Choices and Consequences
by islndgurl777
Summary: Enchanted Forest AU. Princess Emma is fierce, loyal, loving, and on the run. She's leaving behind her loved ones to embark on an adventure unlike any other. The Evil Queen is coming with a war, a curse, and a Pirate. On her journey, the Princess will find new friends, old friends, enemies, and maybe even her true love. Captain Swan.
1. Prologue and Chapter One

Prologue

I wasn't always running. I was a Princess with a grand home, loving parents, even an annoying-as-hell little brother I would do anything for. Actually, he's the reason why I'm running. Henry. My family. I love them all and I ran to protect them. The Evil Queen's plan failed. She was supposed to take away everyone's happy endings. Since she couldn't do that, she's determined to just take away my mother's happy ending: Me.

Part One

Chapter One

The guards came out of the rain late that summer night. Most of the town was at the tavern, laughing together and chattering away near the fire and at the surrounding tables. Rain poured down outside, the cold helping to fog the windows from within and obscuring flashes of lightning. Thunder crashed, but it could hardly be heard over the merry sounds of the pub.

Silence fell when the double doors at the front of the building burst open to reveal eight of the Queen's guards. Everyone knew for whom they'd come but no one gave away her position by even a flicker of their eyes. Patrons started moving again, careful to keep it casual, drawing attention away from the back of the room with their loud chattering and shuffling of chairs.

Ever so slowly, Emma shifted towards the back door, ducking down a bit to hide behind some of the townsfolk. She was almost to the back door when two of the guards started heading in her direction. She hadn't been spotted yet, but it was only a matter of time. Then, a cloaked and hooded figure moved just inside their peripheral vision, capturing the guards' attention. The danger had passed and Emma wasn't about to wait around. She slipped out the back door, grabbing her dull brown cloak along the way.

She slipped it on as she walked and kept to the deepest shadows as she slowly made her way towards the forest. Emma cursed her own stupidity as she went. She shouldn't have stayed as long as she had. But it was so comfortable here; the people were kind and welcoming, and it was so close to her home, to her parents. Not to mention, she was tired of running. She'd been at it for over a year now. No, must be more like two, she mused as she passed into the forest.

A tingling sensation spread through her and she stopped dead, her heart pounding in her head. She shifted around slowly, determined to figure out what was causing it. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to see through the gloom, and even though the trees helped block some of the downpour, she still couldn't see more than ten feet in any direction.

Relying on her instincts had served her well these last years, and while she couldn't see anyone, she knew someone was there, watching her. If it were the guards they would have attacked already, she thought to herself. She weighed her options, wondering who could be following her. Finally, she decided she needed to keep moving, in case Regina's guards decided to wander into the forest. Instead of heading towards her hideout though, she took a meaningless and winding path through the forest, the better to gauge her pursuer's abilities and stamina, and possibly force them into more forward action. Emma was not fond of games, and she particularly loathed hide-and-seek.

Eventually the rain stopped, making it easier to listen for her unwanted companion's breathing or footsteps, but they were far too clever to be heard. Still, she knew they were there. When she got to the river, she took a minute to drink and rest, hoping to entice her follower into coming closer. As she waited, she once again pondered her options. She needed to get to her hideout, if only to retrieve the rest of her things and be on her way to the next village. She was also increasingly curious about the person on her trail, mostly wondering what it was they wanted from her, but also marveling at their exceptional tracking skills; the only reason she knew someone was there was a gut feeling. There had been no overt signs of a pursuer in the several hours she'd been wandering the forest. Whoever was behind her was very, very good.

Option one: She could continue on like she had been, wandering the forest in the hopes of losing her tracker.

That option was dismissed almost as soon as she thought of it. She was tired and she needed to get out of the area as soon as possible. She didn't have time for those kinds of hopes.

Option two: She could head back to her hideout in the hopes that one, her tracker would lose her or two, her tracker would continue to follow but not try to harm her.

No. There were too many variables, too many unknowns in this option. Again, she couldn't pin her safety on a hope.

Option three: Call out her tracker and get some answers.

She ran the risk they would refuse to interact with her, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

"Are you thirsty? Might as well come get some water. You must be, after trailing me since we entered the forest." She turned to look behind her, where she felt her pursuer was lurking deep in the shadows of the trees.

With no warning, she was grabbed from behind. Big hands snatched at her waist, pulling her backward. Emma yelped in surprise but quickly got ahold of herself. She threw up her leg and slammed it back down into her attacker's inseam then elbowed him in the stomach. He let go with a grunt of surprise and she whirled around, right hand grabbing for the dagger in her belt, slicing him across the cheek as she moved away.

It was dark, so she couldn't see her attacker's face, but she could see the outline of his body. Tall, broad shoulders, and he seemed unnaturally bulky, like he was wearing a long coat. He stepped towards her and she stepped back, glancing around for a better defensive position near the river. He reached forward slowly and said, "Gods, lass, where did you learn how to do that?"

Emma shook her head to clear it, sure she'd just had some sort of auditory hallucination. "What?"

"I asked where you learned that. I always thought you'd be more of an archer, like your mother. I would never have expected you to know any close-combat fighting." He took another step forward, taking advantage of her disbelief.

A warm humming started spreading through her body, an excitement and pleasure she hadn't experienced in years rushing through her veins at the sound of that voice. _His_ voice. "Peter?" she whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

He paused in his step forward and groaned. "Will I never be rid of that name?" he murmured, mostly to himself. "Actually, lass, I go by Killian Jones now." He took a step forward just as some clouds moved away from the moon, giving her enough light to look into his mischievous blue eyes. "But most people have taken to calling me by my more colorful moniker," he lifted his left arm, something silver glinting at the end of it. "Hook."

Emma couldn't help it. She chuckled at his cocky tone. Her laughs increased when she saw the annoyed look on his face. "Gods, Peter. '…my more colorful moniker, Hook,'" she mocked, deepening her voice and bringing her left hand up, her first two fingers curved to mimic his hook. She punched him lightly in the arm and rolled her eyes. "Don't be such an idiot."

He growled low in his throat, a sound she was sure he meant to sound threatening, but which just made her start giggling again. "It's Hook, _your highness_."

At his formal address, her face fell and she stopped laughing. "What?" She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "You've never spoken so formally to me before." She tried and failed to keep the hurt out of her voice.

Hook's face hardened. "Things are different now."

"Pray tell, what's happened that old friends can no longer address each other by their given names?" she sneered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We were hardly friends," he threw back. "And that brings us to why I'm following you." He stepped closer and Emma, who had been thrown by his first comment, stayed put in her shock.

"Hardly…wait, why have you come to find me, _Hook_?"

He looked her over for a quiet moment, sighed and said, "I need you."

Somehow she knew he didn't mean it in a good way. She raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

He smirked at her and sent a smoldering look her way, but she only continued looking at him. "You are a valuable pawn, lass, and I need to make a game-changing move to achieve my goal."

Her jaw dropped. "A pawn? You're really likening me to a chess piece?" He smirked at her and shrugged. She laughed bitterly. "And I suppose you want to move this pawn in the direction of the 'black queen'?" She took a step back and tensed, ready to run.

He shook his head. "Think of it as moving you in a more sideways direction. Towards a third party who has mixed loyalties."

She sent him a questioning look, wondering whom he could mean, but he only shook his head. "So what's your plan? Are you going to knock me out and carry me over your shoulder back to your ship? Keep me locked in your cabin until you can deliver me to…whoever needs to see me so badly?" she said it pointedly.

"That's for me to know, lass. And as for getting you there…" he leered at her. "I was going to give you your own cabin, but if you'd rather bunk with me, darling..."

A branch snapped in the distance and both of their heads turned in that direction. They looked back at each other, each considering their choices. Emma bit her lip as she waffled between running from Hook and going with him. He raised an eyebrow at her as she contemplated, tensed to run after her if that's what she chose to do. Ultimately, it came down to Emma's exhaustion; she was tired of running. She needed a game-changing move as well, and maybe going along with Hook would put something into action.

But she was under no illusion that she would be safe with him. He was obviously no longer the boy she'd known growing up; she would have trusted Peter with her life, but Hook…he was obviously pursuing his own goals, with no regard to what happened to Emma. She sighed, eyeing him. "Alright, let's go," she decided cautiously.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "That's it? No struggling?"

She shook her head and motioned for him to start moving. "Right now, at least eight of Regina's guards are combing this forest for me. I don't have the time or energy to fight you on this. If you're telling the truth about not imprisoning me on your ship, I'll be able to escape should I need to. If not, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." He looked at her with doubt. "And you never know, maybe this person we're meeting can actually help."

He continued to stare at her, trying to read her thoughts. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Emma started walking into the trees. "Where are you headed, Princess?" he started following behind her.

Without looking back she answered, "The sea is this way. Unless you sailed your ship on the river or somehow flew it into the forest, we need to head in this direction."

He smirked at her. "You'd be surprised." He motioned over his shoulder with a nod of his head. "The ship's this way."

Emma furrowed her brow. "But that will lead us further into the forest. There's no water whatsoever that way."

"Try something new, darling. It's called trust," he said without looking back at her.

Emma rolled her eyes and murmured to herself, "Yeah, I trust you about as far as I can throw you, _darling_."

"What was that, darling?" he called back to her.

"Nothing," she denied when she caught up to him.

"You know, you never had such trust issues with me before," he commented, giving her a pointed look.

"You never seemed so untrustworthy to me before," she shot back sulkily. It only made his manic grin widen.

They walked in silence with Hook grinning like a loon and Emma getting more and more angry with herself for going with him. This was not a good idea. She had no way of knowing if the person they were meeting was a friend or an enemy. Just as she was about to turn around and make a run for it, they reached a clearing, in the center of which sat a huge ship.

Her jaw dropped. "What?" she asked, looking over at Hook.

His grin widened. "The Jolly Roger. Just wait until you see what she can do." He started climbing up a rope ladder and she hesitated. Was this really her best option for escaping Regina's guards and getting back home to her family? She lifted a hand to place it on the ladder but left it hovering over the first rung.

She had no idea where Hook was taking her or to whom. It could be straight to Regina for all she knew, and she was just following him blindly. Because she'd grown up with Peter, had trusted Peter. But if this time trekking with him through the woods was any indication, cheery Peter was long gone and ruthless Captain Hook had taken his place. Did she really want to place all her trust in a person she didn't really know anymore?

"Better make a decision soon, love," Hook called from above. Emma lifted her head to look at him and saw him nod behind her.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: I forgot to say this yesterday, but a big thanks to my best friend Kaitlyn for beta-ing!**

**Disclaimer: The most expensive thing I own is my car. I'm just borrowing the characters and some dialogue for fun.**

Chapter Two

Emma turned to look and saw the eight men Regina had sent to the tavern running out of the trees towards her. "Shit." She raced up the ladder, slipping a time or two.

When she reached the top, Hook offered her his hand to help her over the edge. She ignored it and pulled herself over, landing on the other side rather gracelessly, but still on her feet. She didn't miss Hook's smirk. "Where's the rest of the crew?" she asked breathlessly, wondering why they weren't running around, preparing the ship for their getaway.

The smirk faltered then was replaced by a cocky grin. "I don't need a crew, love. My ship, she's a marvel. I can fly her all on my own." He made his way to the helm and stroked the wheel.

Emma looked over the side of the ship and saw Regina's guards approaching quickly. "Well you better get her in the air soon, Captain, or we're both dead."

With a shrug and a smirk he placed his palm flat on the rail and breathed deep. Emma felt…she couldn't quite explain it. It was like an exhilarating current went through the whole ship, passing through her, inflating the sails above with wind. It left her fingers tingling and her heart racing. Ropes untied and adjusted themselves, sails unfurled on their own, and the anchor started hoisting itself from the ground.

When Emma looked at Hook, he was watching for her reaction, likely hoping she'd be incoherent with excitement. She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to get on with it. He scowled slightly, took another breath, and the ship lifted gently from the ground. Emma's heart leaped to her throat and she looked away under the pretense of watching for Regina's guards, unwilling to let him see her so awestruck by the experience. The guards had stopped dead several yards from the ship, mouths open in astonishment as they watched Hook and Emma drift higher into the sky.

"You might want to move away from the edge, lass. Just until you get your sea legs," Hook murmured into her ear.

Emma gasped at his closeness. She hadn't even heard him move towards her. She turned around and eyed him. "Don't you mean 'air legs'?" she quipped as she shifted away from him.

He just stared at her for a moment before a grin spread across his face and a chuckle escaped his lips. Emma saw a small glimpse of the boy she'd known years ago in his clear blue eyes. As the thought flitted through her mind, the smile faded from his face and he became Hook once again.

"First one on the left is mine," he said, using his hook to point in the direction of the stairs below deck. "Feel free to stay with me, though I feel I should warn you it gets a bit stifling in there; I'm often forced to sleep with nary a stitch on," he finished with an exaggerated wink.

Emma was already rolling her eyes and walking away. "Don't worry Hook. I won't be in there to add to your discomfort." With that she disappeared down the creaking stairs, not tempted enough to glance at the first door on the left.

Emma was restless that night, still unsure about trusting Hook. She would have abandoned him in the forest had the guards not rushed out of the trees towards her. However, since she was stuck with him for the time being, she figured she'd just have to come up with some contingency plans. Her first was already in motion. Before she'd retired for the night, she'd explored several of the cabins below deck, as well as the armory, where she armed herself with a sword and several more daggers, the galley, and a storage compartment. She memorized the layout of the ship in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

She felt safer now that she was more heavily armed, but she still couldn't sleep. Her mind kept racing with thoughts about Hook and whether or not she should trust him, Regina's guards and how close they'd come to catching her, and finally her family. Her heart ached with missing them. Her thoughts drifted back to the day two years ago when her life had changed.

_Snow's fierce stance, arm pulled back, an arrow aimed at one of Regina's guard's heart, yelling at her to stay away from her daughter. Emma's gaze slid over to her father, sword in hand, crouched defensively in front of young Henry, ready to fend off the twelve guards in the clearing where they'd walked into the trap. Her brother's warm brown eyes had met hers from the gap under Charming's arm and she smiled sadly at him and nodded. His eyes had widened slightly and she saw rather than heard him say, "No!" Charming had turned to see what Henry had yelled about, followed his gaze, and met Emma's. He read her intentions in them and shook his head, panic appearing in understanding. Emma shifted her footing, a dagger in either hand, eyeing the guards moving in on them. She shrugged, not sorry for what she was about to do, knowing she had to do it to protect her family. She whistled loudly to get everyone's attention, threw one of her daggers at the guard closest to her, felling him, and said, "Better come and get me then." With that, she took off into the forest, ignoring her mother's voice crying her name._

Emma sat up in bed, heart hammering, and breathing unsteadily from reliving her memories. "Gods," she murmured to herself, running a shaky hand through her hair. She knew then she must have fallen asleep at some point, but her memories were still haunting her now that she was awake. Slowly breathing in and out, Emma stood up. She noticed the sun starting to rise, and she needed some air to banish her mother's cries from her mind.

She glided up the stairs to the upper deck, half-expecting to see Hook still up there, but she was alone. With a sigh of relief, she made her way to the bow of the ship. They were high enough in the air that it looked as if they were skimming through the clouds. The sun was rising in the east, creating a luminous glow from beneath the white swirls, turning them golden. She remembered early mornings with Henry, when they'd sneak out onto the battlements to watch the sunrise, sipping cocoa together and laughing. A measure of peace settled over Emma, gifting her with a calm she hadn't experienced in nearly two years.

"Couldn't sleep, lass?" And then that peace was shattered. Emma's shoulders tensed and she sighed heavily as she turned around, tears pricking her eyes. Hook continued with a leer, "I can help with that."

Instead of replying, Emma merely shook her head and moved past him, heading for the galley. "No snappy comeback, love? I'm wounded," he held his hook up to his chest in mock-sorrow and followed her below deck.

When she got to the galley she started putting together a plate for herself. Hook snatched an apple from her plate and bit into it. "My, princess, whatever would your mother say if she saw you acting so rude towards an old friend?"

Furious Emma finally snapped. She spun back towards him and slapped the apple out of his hand. "Don't speak that way of my mother to me, pirate." He raised an unconcerned eyebrow and watched as she trembled with compressed rage. "She's done nothing to deserve your contempt. And you yourself said we were never friends, so don't try to use that against me now." She took a deep breath in an effort to even her breathing and calm her emotions. "You used to be Peter, a boy I loved dearly, but I don't see him in you anymore. I'm not a fool; you'll use my affections for him to your advantage, but I'm telling you now, I can see the difference. You're nothing but a merciless pirate." Her voice was icy. She picked up her food, walked to the door, and spoke without looking back. "Take me wherever it is we need to go, but don't believe for a second I'll fall for your duplicitous charm and allow you to manipulate me to your own ends." With that, she left him alone below deck.

It was nearly sundown by the time Hook approached her again. Emma was making herself useful by cleaning the cabins below deck. She stiffened when she felt his presence in the doorway behind her. He was silent for several long moments before he queried, "Are you just going to ignore me from now on, lass?"

Emma sighed and turned towards him. "No. That would be childish." She turned back to the bed she'd be making and continued, "I was just making certain I could restrain myself enough to keep from punching you in the face."

When she turned back he was still standing in the doorway, grinning at her. "You'd never get close enough, darling."

"I got close enough last night," she pointed out. "How's your cheek feeling, by the way? Stinging just a little bit?" she asked with relish.

He brought his hand up to just underneath the cut she'd made perilously close to his right eye. "It hurts something terrible," he claimed, making her narrow her eyes at him. "Perhaps you should kiss it better?" He waggled his eyebrows outrageously at her.

She chuckled and threw a pillow at him. "In your dreams, Hook."

He caught the pillow easily and sauntered into the room with it, crowding her against the bed. "We'll see, princess."

Emma snatched the pillow from his arms and moved to finish making the bed. "Was there a reason you came to look for me, Hook?"

Taking a step back, he nodded. "Have dinner with me," he requested.

Flustered, Emma blurted, "What?"

With an exaggerated sigh, he explained, "We've both been working all day. We've both been contemplating that row in the galley all day. Let's take a break, have a civil meal together, and move on." He presented his bent arm to escort her to the deck.

Placing her hand on his arm, Emma looked over at him as he led her through the ship. "You've been thinking about our argument all day?" she asked doubtfully.

"Of course, darling. You cut me to the quick, telling me we weren't friends." He held his hook to his heart, trying his best to look wounded.

"You're the one who told me we weren't friends first!" she argued.

Leading her up the stairs he gave her a pitying look. "Darling, I'm a pirate. We tend to be rather dramatic."

"Dramatic? Try flat-out liars, or at the very least in heavy denial," she retorted. She stopped dead at seeing a table with place settings set up in the middle of the deck. "What's this?"

"What does it look like? It's dinner, princess." He led her to her seat and pulled it out for her, bowing in a dramatic flourish as he helped her into it.

"Now you're a gentleman?" she sassed, laughing.

"Princess, I am _always_ a gentleman," he claimed, taking his own seat across from her.

"This coming from the man who grabbed me from behind last night in a failed attempt to kidnap me," she drawled as he lifted the covers on their plates.

"You held your own, though," he conceded, gesturing to his cheek. "Where'd you learn that move, anyway? You used to loathe weapons training."

"I know," she smiled. "Remember that time I snuck away from my father's lesson and followed you and Pinocchio to the lake?"

"Of course I remember! Scared away all the fish, you did, stomping around in the water with your dress held up to your thighs. And when we got back, we were in just as much trouble as you were for 'encouraging' your little escapade! I had to scrub floors every morning for a week following that as punishment," he recalled.

Emma couldn't suppress her giggle. "I know! I was assigned kitchen duty for the week. Pinocchio was a bit older, so he had to muck out the stables."

Hook took a sip of his rum and grinned. "Yes, we definitely got the better end of that deal."

They settled into a comfortable silence as they finished their meal. Suddenly, Hook said, "Well done, princess."

Emma raised an eyebrow in question. "Well done what?"

He mirrored her raised brow and leaned in closer to her. "Well done on avoiding my query. I still don't know how you learned that move back in the forest. Did your father teach you?"

Emma shook her head. "No, it was a friend of mine I met while I've been on the run. He taught me quite a few useful tricks, actually," she remarked with fondness. "Not to say that my father didn't teach me some useful moves as well," she added.

"You've improved your skills with a sword then, since the last time I saw you?"

Rolling her eyes, Emma answered, "I was ten the last time you saw me. Of course I've gained experience since then. I daresay I could even give _you_ a run for your money, Captain."

Hook leaned forward, a sparkle in his eye. "Was that a challenge, your highness?"

Emma leaned in until their noses were a mere inch apart, lips twitching. "Only if you're up for it, Hook."

He chuckled and whispered, looking at her lips, "Oh, princess, I'm _always_ up for it."

"You're hilarious, Hook," Emma deadpanned. "Are we going to do this or not?" she challenged, standing up and retrieving her sword from the sheath at her hip.

He mirrored her pose with his sword and nodded to her, "Begin."

Not one to wait for him to attack her, Emma struck at him with a wide swing. Surprised, he barely had time to deflect before she was leaning back to kick him in the chest. He regained his balance in time to deflect another solid swing. "Not one to pull your punches, are you, princess?" he remarked, taking a step back to eye her stance.

"You need me to take it down a notch?" she taunted, keeping her steps light as she circled him.

"Not at all, darling," he said, lunging forward and taking her by surprise. Her sword flew out of her grip and she was at his mercy. "Just waiting for you to get cocky." He stepped forward and lifted his blade to her throat. "Do you yield?"

Emma's eyes flashed with mirth. "You wish," she whispered as she lifted her right arm, using a dagger to deflect the sword long enough to gain distance from Hook.

"Well done, darling, but you can't hold me off forever with just a dagger."

She looked past him to where her sword lay abandoned on the deck, twenty feet from her. "Oh, I wouldn't count me out just yet, Hook." She dropped to the ground, rolled under the swing of his sword, and popped back up, this time on the correct side of him to retrieve her own.

"Ah, but how will you get to it without leaving yourself vulnerable to me? Best to just yield to me now, lass, and save yourself the embarrassment," he advised sagely.

"You underestimate me, Captain. I can still—" her claim was cut off when she slipped on a bit of water on the deck. She went down and Hook heard the alarmingly loud thump of her head hitting the deck. She didn't move.

He dropped his sword and rushed over to her. "Emma?" he asked loudly as he bent down to check for injuries.

He froze when he felt the chill of a blade at both his throat and his hip. "Do you yield?" Emma whispered in his ear, then pulling back to grin widely at him.

A snort of disbelief escaped and he nodded his surrender. "Even though it's cheating."

As she stood up, Emma shrugged and said haughtily, "I was taught always to use what's at my disposal."

Hook took her helping hand up and shook his head. "I will tell you one thing, lass: You'd make a hell of a pirate."

"I could never be a pirate, Hook," she argued softly, moving back towards the table.

He caught up with her and caught her left wrist with his hook. "You're hurt," he murmured, lifting her hand to inspect the long cut.

"It's fine," Emma protested, struggling to pull her arm free.

"No, it's not." He yanked her closer, setting her body flush with his. "This is going to sting," he warned her, pulling a flask out of the depths of his coat, uncorking it with his mouth, and dribbling it over her wound.

She knew the pain was coming but that didn't stop her from yelling, nor from punching him in the arm. Hook pulled a scarf from around his neck and started wrapping her hand. Emma stood transfixed as she watched him bend over her hand to secure the knot with his teeth. As he pulled away, she swore she felt the whisper of his breath against her palm, but she decided it was more likely a drop of his rum dripping across her hand.

Still, her voice was hoarse when she looked up into his eyes and stammered, "Th-thank you."

He merely nodded in recognition of her thanks, his eyes glued to hers. Blushing, her eyes flickered down and caught on his inner wrist. "Who's Milah?" she wondered aloud, meeting his gaze again.

He abruptly released her wrist and started walking away. "She's someone from long ago," he told her without looking back. His tone was hard, indicating the subject was closed. "Goodnight, princess," he dismissed her, heading up to the helm.

Emma, sensing his turmoil, decided not to press him on it. She headed to her cabin and left him alone with a quiet, "Goodnight, Hook."

He turned back, watching her step below deck, and opened his mouth to say…_what_? He wasn't going to apologize for prohibiting a discussion of Milah, who she was, or how he became Hook, but he did feel uneasy about the way the evening had ended. Things had been going well. Hell, they'd even laughed together, which was something he hadn't done in Gods knew how long. But Milah and his past were not up for discussion, and he'd had to let Emma know that in no uncertain terms, so he'd just walked away.

Distance. It would be best if he kept his distance. She would be disembarking soon and he'd be off to fulfill his quest for vengeance, which meant he probably wouldn't be seeing Emma again. Hook sighed and turned towards the horizon, pushing his guilt to the back of his mind, along with the lost look she'd given him when he'd walked away from her. Yes, he should definitely start keeping his distance. He was Hook now, not Killian.

As Hook justified keeping his distance from her, Emma slept soundly below deck, despite the questions circling around about the many facets of Peter and his mystery woman, Milah. Who was she to him? Emma didn't want to upset Hook again, but her curiosity was definitely piqued. Perhaps with time they'd grow to know each other again and he'd tell her. Maybe time really did heal all wounds, and Hook could become Killian again, a man she could one day love.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! The rest of the story is already written, so plan on a new chapter every day until it's completed!**


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows! I really appreciate the support!**

**FYI: I own neither the characters nor the dialogue I borrow.**

Chapter Three

He'd been short with her all morning, when he bothered to address her at all. She hated it. She missed their banter, their camaraderie. Hell, she even missed his outrageous innuendoes. With a plan in mind and a pack of cards in her pocket, she made her way up to the helm, where Hook was alternating between peering at a map and squinting out at the horizon.

She shimmied up on the rail directly next to the helm and stared at him. And stared. And stared. Hook fidgeted uncomfortably. Though he avoided looking at her, he could feel the weight of her gaze. Finally, he gave a heavy sigh and made eye contact, lifting a brow in question.

"I'm bored," Emma whined, flinching slightly at the unnatural tone in her voice.

Hook rolled his eyes. "So sorry, princess. I wasn't anticipating having to entertain you while on this journey." His eyes took on a predatory gleam as he shifted closer to her. "Though I can think of some ways we can keep each other…occupied."

"Great! Me too!" she beamed, sliding off the rail and hitting him in the shoulder cheerily. "I brought cards!" She started shuffling them as she sat down on a stool next to a barrel they could use as a table.

Sighing heavily, Hook crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "What did you have in mind, lass?"

"Poker," she promptly replied, dealing each of them five cards.

Hook sat across the barrel from her and raised a brow. "The stakes?"

Emma paused, startled. When she'd played with her godmother, Red, they'd never played for money. "What did you have in mind?" she asked cautiously.

He picked up his cards and shrugged. "I assume you don't have much coin on you?"

She snorted as she copied his act. "You assume correctly."

Watching her carefully as she shifted her cards around, smirking slightly to herself, he decided. "How about, if I win, I get to ask you any question I want, and you have to answer honestly. If you win, same."

She paused in shifting her weight on her seat. "Well," she said, biting her lip and looking back down at her cards. He lifted an eyebrow in challenge. She let out a shuddery breath and agreed, "That's fair, I suppose."

Hook hid his grin, removed two cards from his hand, and placed them on the barrel. "Two."

Emma nodded and fumbled slightly dealing his cards to him. She then picked her own up again, bit her lip, and contemplated for a moment. "I'll have one, I guess," she told him as she discarded.

They lay their hands down. Emma almost had a straight, but Hook had three-of-a-kind. He smirked at her and asked, "Are you a virgin, princess?"

She turned beet-red and squirmed. "I don't think-"

"Ah ah ah," he scolded. "We had a deal. You have to answer truthfully."

Scowling, Emma shifted in her seat again, clearly debating what she should say. Finally, she settled on the truth. "Yes, I am a virgin, Hook. Being on the run the last few years hasn't exactly left time for establishing romantic attachments," she commented ruefully.

"Sex doesn't have to be about romance, princess," he told her with a leer.

Eyes flashing, Emma replied, "For me, it does." Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared over at him. "Are you going to shuffle and deal, or what?" When he merely lifted his hook up in response, she turned red again. "Sorry," she said more calmly, collecting the cards and shuffling them herself. She then handed the deck to him for dealing.  
"Don't worry about it, lass. It's actually quite refreshing to be with someone who doesn't remember it's there," he said quietly, passing out their cards. When he saw her squirming in her seat again, he reined in his chuckle. "How many?" he asked her.

She bit her lip, contemplating. "Um, can I have two please?"

He swiftly exchanged her cards and then one of his own. "Ready to lose again princess?"

Sighing heavily, Emma set down her hand: a pair of sevens. "Not bad," Hook told her. "But I've still got you beat." He laid down a pair of queens. "What horribly embarrassing question should I ask you next?" he wondered aloud, stroking his chin, taking pleasure in the mortified look that spread across her face. "I know: Have you ever fantasized about having sex with any of the men you know?"

Emma's face flamed up again. _You have to answer honestly_, she reminded herself. "Yes," she squeaked out, refusing to meet Hook's eyes.

She gestured to the flask at his side and said, "If you're going to keep asking questions like that, I'm going to need some of that." Without a word he handed the flask over and Emma swallowed a large mouthful. She grimaced at the strong taste. "Well, that's better. Shall we, Captain?" He gestured for her to collect the cards. She shuffled, dealt, and traded cards for the two of them. "Ugh," she took another long sip when she saw her final hand. Dropping her head onto the table she moaned, "Jus ask me already."

Grinning wickedly, Hook leaned across the barrel and lifted her chin with his hand. "Have you ever seen a man you were attracted to naked?"

"Yes," she blurted, red streaking across her face. She took another drink to cover her mortification.

Shock rendered him speechless for a second. "Who? When?" he wondered aloud.

She shook her head. "Thas not the deal. I only hafta answer one quession."

This time he didn't bother to hide his smug grin. She was already slurring her words; how difficult would it be to win against a drunken woman? "Well then shuffle them up, princess. I'm dying to know."

She shuffled the cards and he dealt, confident now that he could beat her and discover the answers to his questions. But she surprised him by coming out ahead with two pair. Throwing her hands into the air in victory, she looked over at him with a wicked grin. When her eyes flicked over to his wrist, covered by his coat sleeve, he stiffened. Her grin faded and she sighed. "Where'd ya go, Peter?"

He relaxed slightly and answered quickly, relieved she hadn't asked about the tattoo. "I spent six years travelling along the coast on various ships, ten in Neverland, and the last six years all over this damn world, looking for my revenge."

Emma shook her head in confusion. "But how's that possible? You onny left me twelve yearsago."

Throwing her words back at her he reminded her, "Only one question, princess."

She rolled her eyes and shuffled the cards and dealt again, bouncing in her chair. To Hook's amazement, she won again. "How are you winning? You're one good kiss from passing out!"

"You'd never kiss me, Hook!" she shouted rather loudly, still bouncing up and down. "Now, tell me how it's been twenty-two years for you, but twelve for me," she demanded.

Rolling his eyes he explained, "We went into the portal to Neverland when I was twenty. Time works differently there. We didn't age at all, but we were there for what amounted to about ten years. When we jumped a portal back, it was the same day we'd left. As if we'd never left at all." He trailed off and his eyes glazed over for a minute. He shook himself out of his reverie and told her, "_That's_ how it's been twenty-two years for me and twelve for you."

She bit her lip and nodded, collecting and shuffling the cards in silence. When she handed them over to Hook to deal her eyes once again went to his right wrist. "Your deal," she said quietly.

Five minutes later he was eyeing her with suspicion. "How did you do that again?"

"Do what?" she asked innocently, her clear eyes meeting his.

He leaned forward to study her face and what he saw made his jaw drop. "Bloody hell, lass. You're not drunk at all are you?"

She snickered and shrugged. "I have no idea what you could be talking about, Captain. I never said I was drunk."

"Never said you were a shark at poker, either," he grumbled.

"Not my fault you're easily hustled, Captain," she sang cheerily, collecting the cards again. Silently, Emma sent thanks to her godmother, Red, for teaching her poker. "Now what should I ask?" she wondered, stroking her chin. Her eyes flickered to his wrist once and once again he stiffened. "Why did you leave, all those years ago?" she asked, instead of the question that was burning in her mind.

His shoulders dropped and he sighed. "There was nothing for me at your parents' castle. I had no family there and I was the outcast. The only reason people took care of me was because they felt sorry for me, the abandoned gutter rat. I needed to make something of myself. I needed to be something better for myself."

She contemplated this statement silently as she shuffled and dealt again. "Pinocchio always wondered where you went. He was always asking about you in town, if you'd been seen around." She swapped out their cards and continued, "I missed you too, you know. You didn't even leave a note," she said bitterly, setting her cards down.

Hook set his own down, holding her eyes instead of looking at the cards. "I didn't think you'd care," he stated bluntly.

"Well you were wrong," she shot back, leaning away from him and crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. Her eyes flickered to their cards. "Looks like you won again, Captain. What are you going to ask this time?" Her eyes dared him to ask under what circumstances she'd seen a naked man, but he didn't take the bait.

Instead, he watched her regretfully for a moment before his smirk reappeared and he said, "I don't have one right now, princess. How about we'll call it an IOU?"

Realizing he was allowing her to save face, or holding it over her head so he could come up with an even more humiliating question to ask her later, she sighed and said, "Fine. That's fine. But I'm done playing for a while." Standing, she made her way to the other side of the ship to look out at the clouds beneath them. Emma wished she was drunk, if only to explain the wild range of emotions she was suffering, but her time running had taught her more than swordsmanship.

Closing her eyes, she breathed deep, trying to steady her erratic heart. She'd revealed herself to him, too much of herself. She'd allowed him to know her feelings for Peter, and from that he must have concluded that she'd been lying earlier: of course her feelings for Peter were going to affect how she handled Hook. To her, there was no way of separating the pirate from her childhood friend and the man he'd grown up to be, because she knew in her heart he was capable of being that good man again. She'd seen glimpses of Killian, a grown-up version of Peter, underneath the tough outer shell that was Hook, and that made her vulnerable.

It was dangerous to put her faith in a pirate with a cold heart and a vendetta she couldn't even begin to imagine. She couldn't count on him to have her best interests at heart, especially if her best interests clashed with his plans. She had to stop believing he could change. She could hope for it and help him work towards it, as she had been when she'd enticed him to play poker with her, but she couldn't trust that he would go back to being the person she wanted him to be, the friend she'd grown up with.


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing/following/favoriting! Also, it bears repeating that my beta Kaitlyn is amazing! I give her twelve percent credit for this fic..**

**BTW: I don't own anything. Sadness.**

Chapter Four

Despondent over the turn of events that had changed a pleasant midafternoon game into a painful recitation of their pasts, Emma headed down to the galley to prepare a small evening meal for the two of them. Hook had told her they'd be arriving at their destination early the next morning, so these were really the last hours she'd be spending with him. Despite his excessive flirting and his tendency to turn nearly everything she said into a sexual innuendo, Emma had grown to like being around Hook. He was witty and charismatic and wickedly attractive. When they parted, she wanted to know they were friends again, even if only tentatively.

Hook entered the galley slowly, glancing carefully around and making eye contact with her, silently asking permission to join her. She nodded towards the table and picked up the plates she'd been arranging. "I'm sorry," she told him, sliding his plate to him across the table.

"What for, lass? You didn't do anything wrong," he shrugged, digging into his food.

Before she took a bite she said, "I just feel like I…dumped a lot of my emotions on you. And that wasn't fair of me. You were allowed to leave, and you were allowed to not tell people where you were going. You're allowed to feel about us how you wish, and my putting my feelings of…" she searched for an appropriate word. "Rejection," she settled on with a nod. "My putting my feelings of rejection on your shoulders was not well done of me. It may have felt like a personal slight when I was ten, but I know differently now. You just didn't feel about us as we did about you." _You didn't feel about me as I felt about you_, she corrected to herself. "And that's okay. That's what I'm apologizing for." Finishing, she looked back down at her food and started eating.

Hook was quiet and still for a long moment after she'd finished talking. "Lass," he began, reaching across the table for her, trying to come up with some kind of apology for seemingly leaving her without a thought.

At that moment, a resounding boom echoed around the ship, making Emma jump. "Were you expecting a storm?" she asked, voice shaking slightly from her startle.

He nodded and took another bite. "That's what I came down here to tell you. We're sailing right through it and there shouldn't be any problems, but it does make a hell of a racket," he said wryly.

"I feel like that's a bit of an understatement," she said, flinching slightly when another crash shook the ship. "Are you sure everything will be alright?"

"I've sailed through hundreds of storms, princess. I'm sure," he patronized her. "You aren't afraid, are you princess?" he smirked, raising a brow in challenge. Before she could think of a snide comeback, another boom sounded, this one much louder than any previous, and they heard an ominous creaking sound from above deck. His eyes met hers for a moment before he bolted up shouting, "Stay here! Don't come up for any reason!"

Emma lunged forward and caught his arm before he was out the door. "No way! If you're going up there, I'm going up to help you!"

"This is not the time to be obstinate, Emma! It's dangerous up there!" He tried to wrench his jacket free as another roll of thunder shook the ship.

She held on tighter. "Exactly! Which is why you could use all the help you can get."

Their eyes held for several long seconds, will clashing against will. Finally, with a snarl, Hook yelled, "Fine. But you're to stay at the center of the ship, away from the edges, and do exactly as I tell you. And if it gets too dangerous, you're to go back down below. Are we agreed?"

"Only if you promise you'll come back down below too," she shot back, hands moving to her hips.

He gave her a tight-lipped nod and they headed above deck.

They were soaked within seconds of stepping out into the storm. Hook took a long second to survey the ship from the relative safety of the doorway to the deck. "It looks like the fore mast was hit," he shouted at Emma over the rain, pointing towards the cracked wood.

"Will she still be able to fly?" she shouted back.

Hook considered for a moment. "She should be fine, as long as we get the pressure off the mast. I can't fix it during the storm, but if we don't get those sails down, the damage could worsen."

Emma nodded in understanding, though she really knew nothing about sailing. "What do you need me to do?" Just then a flash of lightning lit up the sky and the accompanying crash of thunder deafened them for a moment.

_I need you to go back below deck and stay safe_, he thought to himself. Aloud he said, "You can work on lowering those two sails while I inspect the rest of the ship for damage." He told her how to adjust the ropes to lower the two fore sails then left to inspect the other mast and sails.

He was just on his way back to help Emma with the other sail when a slice of lightning flashed and hit the deck in front of him. Startled, he leaped back, only to be cracked in the skull by the fore boom from behind. Stars obscured his vision as he tried to right himself, the back of his head pounding like a bloody drum. He listed to his right, fighting the gray haze that was threatening to close over him, and leaned his arm on something sturdy. The last thing he heard before he succumbed to the darkness was a woman screaming his name, "Hook!"

/

Emma rushed towards him, heart racing in fear. She'd seen him hit his head on the boom but had assumed he was okay when he started to walk it off. However, dread dropped like a stone in her heart when she saw him drifting towards the edge of the ship. She was already running towards him when he leaned heavily against the rail and his weight started to pull him over the side. "Hook!" she yelled, sprinting the last few yards and grabbing his arm. Unfortunately, between her forward momentum and his, they were both pulled over the side of the ship.

A sharp tug around her middle stopped them from free falling to the ground. Emma tightened her grip on Hook's arm and praised herself for her forethought: she'd tied a rope around her waist as she was letting down the sails, in case she was thrown around during the storm. She gritted her teeth at the dead weight she was carrying and shifted to adjust her hold on him. "Hook! Wake up!"

She couldn't see his face, but she could see the nasty gash in the back of his head. "Shit." There was no way he'd be waking up any time soon. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried not to panic. How was she supposed to get them back onto the ship? Her question was answered when they were slowly towed upward by the rope around her waist. _But there's no one else on the ship_, she thought to herself, tightening her grip on Hook. _Who could be hoisting us up?_

When they were even with the rail, Emma used the last of her strength to haul Hook's body over the edge and drop him on the other side. She was pulled the rest of the way over by the rope. Lying on the deck, gasping, she looked around for their savior but found no one. "Hello?" she called over the rain.

Lightning streaked across the sky again and Emma looked over at Hook. She had to get him inside. With a groan she sat up and dragged him over to the stairs. She winced when she jarred him as she pulled him carefully down the stairs. He'd be plenty bruised when he woke up.

By the time she'd gotten him into bed, tended his wound, and removed his wet clothes, she was exhausted. Knowing she'd need to keep an eye on him throughout the night anyway, she stripped out of her own drenched clothes and into one of his long shirts then curled up in the chair next to his bed. She intended to watch him sleep for a while, but was asleep herself within moments.

/

Killian Jones had a hell of a hangover. Pain swam through his head. His whole body ached. He hadn't had a hangover this nasty since the first time he'd imbibed alcohol, fourteen years old and trying to prove himself to the pirates at port. _What the bloody hell happened last night?_ he wondered, cautiously opening his eyes.

The cabin was almost black but for the embers burning in the fireplace. A glance at the window told him it was still dark outside. Upon further observation of his cabin Hook noticed his clothes draped over various pieces of furniture, drying out. _Drying out? Why would my clothes need…_ Memories of the night before came flooding back to him. The storm. The boom hitting his head. He lifted a cautious hand to inspect the wound on the back of his head and hissed in pain.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped his head around, giving himself a dizzy spell. "Well that wasn't very smart," Emma told him from her chair at his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a carriage," he muttered, turning his head towards her on the pillow.

"Close," she told him cheerfully, getting up to light a candle. "Just a boom."

Hook groaned at the light and closed his eyes. "What happened after I was hit?"

He heard her moving toward him and felt the heat of the candle on his face. "Turn over so I can look at it," she murmured. As she inspected his wound she explained, "You started drifting towards the edge of the ship. I was running towards you and we both went over. Lucky for you I had a rope tied around my waist. We were pulled up, though I was under the impression we were alone on this ship."

He answered her unasked question, "My ship's a smart woman, lass. She pulled us up. Ouch!" His eyes snapped open at her rough touch.

"Your ship is sentient?" Emma wondered, ignoring his complaint. "That's…amazing!" She ran her hands absently through his hair as she redressed his injury.

He chuckled and closed his eyes again at the feeling of her fingers running through his hair. "I always thought so. She's made of enchanted wood you know," he boasted proudly.

He didn't need to have his eyes open to know she'd rolled hers. "How wonderful for you. Now, go back to sleep. I'll wake you up in a few hours to check on your wound again." He heard her moving back towards her chair and his arm whipped out to catch hers.

"No need to sleep so uncomfortably, darling. There's plenty of room in the bed for two," he told her, eyes still closed, as if he still had the power to seduce while lying in bed, injured.

She hesitated long enough to have him opening his eyes again. "Is Milah your wife?" she asked cautiously. She wouldn't be getting into bed with him to do anything carnal, but she still felt it would be wrong to share a bed with a married man.

His eyes widened and he stared at her without answering for so long that she decided maybe the chair was the better way to go. In fact, maybe her cabin was the best idea at this point. Just as she was turning to leave he cleared his throat and said roughly, "No. She was my lover, but she's…She died. The Dark One killed her."

Emma's eyes filled at the pain in his voice and she wanted to tell him how sorry she was for his loss, but the look in his eyes told her that her sympathy would not be welcome. Instead, she bit back her tears, nodded, and moved to the other side of the bed. She lay on top of the blanket at the very edge of the bed, her back turned to Hook. She was just starting to drift off when he spoke again, "I was with her more than ten years."

Emma turned to see him staring at the ceiling, brows furrowed. "It was her idea to go to Neverland. She wanted to be young forever and have adventures together and I agreed because I loved her. We were in port one day. She disappeared for a few hours, then came rushing aboard, cheeks flushed with excitement, clutching that damned bean. It took us to Neverland, where we were young and carefree for ten years. But I wanted to come back." For the first time since he'd started reciting his story, his eyes met Emma's though he seemed to look straight through her. "I wanted to come back and start a family. She didn't want to come back, but she did it for me. And then he killed her."

"Why'd he kill her?" Emma asked softly.

"She'd stolen the bean," he whispered. "She'd stolen the bean from the Dark One. When we came back from Neverland we ended up coming through the portal on the same day we left. It was easy for him to catch us, and when he did…" He rubbed his hand over his face. "When he did, he ripped her heart out of her chest and crushed it in front of me. Then he cut off my hand for good measure."

Emma heaved a sigh and said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She lifted her hand to his arm and gave it a squeeze.

His eyes held hers for a long while before he sighed heavily and said, "Go to sleep, princess. We've a long day tomorrow." He turned to blow out the candle and shifted out of her grip.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Good night, Hook," she whispered.

"Good night, princess," he whispered back as she was drifting to sleep.


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N: Thank you for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting my story! It really means a lot to me that someone other than myself and my fantastic beta Kaitlyn get to read it!**

**Guess what? I'm poor and don't own this tv show. Bummer.**

Chapter Five

Hook was pleasantly warm. The heat was coming, not from the fireplace across the room, but from his immediate left. A little confused about from where the heat was radiating, he squinted open his eyes and turned his head. Emma was lying next to him, her head leaning into his shoulder, her arms wrapped around one of his, one hand gripping his hook as if she were trying to hold his hand. His breath hitched in his chest at the sight.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, he shifted further away. He wanted to look at her without fear of discovery. She'd been a child the last time he'd seen her, pretty as her mother of course, but she hadn't yet blossomed. He'd loved her with all the innocence of youth and friendship.

Now she was a siren, sent to lure him away from his quest, with sea-green eyes that probed into his damaged heart and golden hair to tempt him to move on. He hadn't the capacity to love her anymore. But looking at her now, curled up so sweetly next to him, leaning in to the hand he placed on her hair with a soft sigh, he so desperately wanted to be able to love her. "You loved Peter, and you would have liked Killian Jones, princess," he murmured softly to her. "He was wild and brave and selfless. If I could be him again I would do it for you, but I can't." He sighed and placed a gentle kiss to her brow. As he pulled away, Emma tried to shift closer, but he disentangled himself from her and quietly made his way to the door. He looked back at her one last time, regret shining in his eyes, then made his way up to the deck.

When Emma emerged half an hour later, she was wearing a grin and carrying new bandages. "I slept longer than I thought I would. Your bed was just so comfortable," she said with a shrug. "Ready for me to rewrap it?"

He shook his head; he did not want to be any closer to her than he absolutely had to. "It's fine. I can do it myself later. We're coming up on our destination soon."

She was quiet as she set the bandages down and walked over to him. "What's going to happen to me? Does this person want me as a hostage, a prisoner? How dangerous are they?"

He let out a shuddering breath, wishing he could feel more cavalier about it. "He's not going to hurt you. He said he needed your help and that you'd benefit from his. He had no way to contact you and no idea where you were, so he sent me to fetch you."

"Fetch me, like an animal?" she asked incredulously, shaking her head. "And what do you get for fetching the cattle?"

He ignored the scorn in her voice and concentrated on dipping the ship below the cloud line. "In return, he'll tell me where the Dark One's dagger is located and I can finally get my revenge."

Her heart sped up and she shook her head. "Haven't you heard the legend? If you kill the Dark One with his dagger, his curse becomes yours. You can't possibly want him dead that—"

"Don't presume to know the lengths to which I will go to destroy that crocodile, princess." His tone was cold, hard. "He killed my love, and for that, I will take his life, no matter the cost."

Emma swallowed hard, tears burning in her eyes. "Even if the cost is your own life?"

He seemed to hesitate as he brought the ship down in a clearing in another forest. His eyes met hers as the anchor dropped to the ground. "I've been on this quest for six years, princess. I've no illusions about how it will end for me."

She took hook and hand in hers and looked up at him, pleading. "But it doesn't have to end that way. Maybe there's another solution. Maybe you don't have to sacrifice yourself to get revenge on him." She wanted to say, _maybe you don't have to focus on revenge, maybe you can focus on moving on_, but she knew he'd respond coldly to such a suggestion. Instead, she continued, "Come with me. Help me stop Regina terrorizing the people and maybe we can come up with some way to stop the Dark One together."

He searched her eyes intently, heart pounding wildly in his chest. He felt an insane urge to agree. He wanted to help Emma, despite any delays it might put in his plans for revenge, and he knew she'd keep her promise to help him defeat the Dark One once Regina was usurped and she had her life back. When he looked down at the tattoo on his wrist, however, the urge to side with Emma lessened considerably. No. He had to continue with his plan for revenge. He owed it to Milah. "Lass," he started, dropping her hands.

"Well, well, well. Don't you two look cozy," drawled a deep voice from the side of the ship.

Hook closed his eyes and cursed the boy's impeccable timing. "Princess, let me introduce you to—"

"Bae?" Emma asked, baffled. She ran at him and he braced himself for her tight hug. When she pulled back, she looked between the two men, wondering if this was some kind of joke.

"You know him?" Hook asked slowly.

"Of course. Didn't he tell you?" She grinned at Baelfire and turned back to Hook. "For almost two years now. He's the one I told you about, who taught me that move from the other night."

"Among other things," Hook murmured to himself with a scowl. Emma heard and blushed furiously, narrowing her eyes at him for his comment.

"You didn't tell him we knew each other?" she turned to Bae.

Bae shook his head and locked eyes with Hook over Emma's head, wondering about the stormy look in the pirate's eyes. "I didn't think it would matter," he shrugged off her accusatory glare.

She punched him in the arm and said, "Well of course it matters. I've gone three days thinking I was off to meet an enemy. Knowing I was meeting a good friend would have helped me sleep a lot better."

"You seemed to sleep just fine in my bed last night," Hook drawled from his place across the deck.

Emma flushed and avoided eye contact with Bae. "I was tending your wounds, after saving your life, if you'll recall."

"I recall very well, darling. I woke up with your body all but welded to mine."

Emma glared at him and he leered back at her, unrepentant. Finally, Bae cleared his throat and said, "Well. As interesting as this little encounter has been, I believe Emma and I should be on our way." He tossed a pouch to Hook. "All the information you need is in here. I wish you luck. My father is not an easy man to kill." He held his arm out to Emma. "Shall we?"

Emma ignored his arm and took a step closer to Hook. She looked from the black pouch in his hand into his eyes. "Come with me," she said quietly. "Help me stop Regina, and maybe we can come up with a way to stop the Dark One together."

Hook recalled what Emma had told him about having feelings for the man who'd been helping her, who he now knew to be Bae. He watched the way the boy looked at the princess, with fondness and adoration. His eyes were drawn to the pouch in his hand, which held the key to his revenge, and they caught on the bottom edge of his tattoo. "No," he said firmly, looking up into Emma's eyes. "I finally have the means of achieving my revenge. I'm not about to give it up to trail after you and your lover as you develop your hopeless plan to stop Regina."

Emma paled as if he'd slapped her and he felt a wrench in his gut as if he really had. "Well," she said, voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and stepped away from him. "Thank you for bringing me here, Hook." She gestured for Bae to lead the way down the rope ladder. Once they were alone again, she said softly, "I hope you find what you need, Hook. And I hope it makes you happy." With that parting remark, she made her way down the ladder, leaving Hook alone on the deck of his ship.

He sighed deeply and shook off the feeling of regret building in his chest. She'd find her way just fine with Bae helping her, and they might even achieve their goal of defeating Regina once and for all. But that wasn't his fight. According to the information Baelfire had procured for him, his fight was waiting for him in Wonderland.


	6. Chapter Six

**A/N: Hugs to you for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting. Every time I get a notification I squeal. It's a little embarrassing.**

**I don't own OUAT. Bummer.**

Part Two- Six Months Later

Chapter Six

On the edge of the Evil Queen's kingdom, minutes from the ocean, there was a room which few people ever saw, located directly below the bar in a well-travelled tavern. Currently there were two people there: the first, a tired and haunted man, dirty from his escape from the palace and subsequent race to the tavern. The other, a young blond woman, dressed for war and eager to learn the information the man had brought for her.

"He's going to get caught," the Huntsman told her, scooping up a spoonful of the stew Emma had placed in front of him.

His accent was peculiar and reminded her of—_No_, she thought to herself. _It's no use thinking about him. He's surely forgotten about you._ She sighed heavily. "He's not going to be caught," she said, taking a sip of her ale. "You said he's earned her trust in the time he's been there. Why should she doubt him?"

"Regina always knows. I was quite shocked she allowed me to escape, to be honest. I'd given up all hope of ever retrieving my heart and leaving that place." His voice trailed off towards the end and a heartbreaking look entered his eyes.

Emma leaned forward and cautiously placed a hand over his. He jerked once but didn't pull away, and it took a long time for him to meet her eyes again. "You're out now," she said softly, giving his hand a squeeze. "And I'm going to need your help to stop her, before she can hurt anyone else."

He shifted his hand away from hers, took a gulp of his ale, and nodded. "I've got the information Baelfire collected," he said, patting the bag hanging over his shoulder. "And I'll tell you whatever you need to know."

Emma shot him a dazzling smile for his willingness to help. "Thank you, Huntsman."

They talked long into the night regarding the layout of Regina's castle, guard rotations, magical traps, and possible ways of capturing Regina for good. "Baelfire suggested an enchanted mirror," the Huntsman told her.

Her brow furrowed. "Enchanted how?"

He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. "There's a man trapped in the mirrors of her home. Baelfire suggested you do the same to Regina; she won't be able to use magic on the other side of the mirror. Apparently it's what Rumplestiltskin did to her mother, the Queen of Hearts, in Wonderland."

Emma tapped her fingers on the table and bit her lip. "Did he give you a way to enchant a mirror?"

He shook his head. "He doesn't know how to do it, only that it can be done. You may be able to find out from Rumplestiltskin, but he suggests using him as a last resort. He gave me a list of people and places to try first, before asking the Dark One." He pointed to the stack of papers they'd almost finished going through in their planning.

Emma looked to the pile and back over to the Huntsman, who was yawning for the umpteenth time that evening. "You've been a great help to us, Huntsman. I'll leave you to sleep. In the morning, you can make your way to my parents' kingdom." She started to gather up the papers when his hesitant hand on her arm stopped her.

His deep blue eyes captured hers. "Thank you, princess, for everything. And thank Baelfire for me when you see him next. I'll never be able to repay you for helping me escape."

She placed a hand over his and smiled gently. "You don't need to repay me." She bit her lip and glanced down. "But if I could have a favor?" When he nodded, she pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "Give this to my parents when you see them? I haven't seen them in two-and-a-half years. I just want them to know I'm alright."

"Of course, princess," he said softly, taking the letter and placing it in his pack.

She smiled wryly as she was reminded of another good-looking, accented man who used her title as a taunt rather than as a sign of respect. "Maybe you could call me Emma?" she suggested. "My mother tells me I wouldn't be alive were it not for you, so I think that warrants a first name rather than a title."

He studied her intently for a moment before agreeing. "Okay. I promise to deliver this letter to your parents, Emma." He awarded her with a small grin when she nodded her approval. "You're a brave woman. I'm sure your parents are very proud of you."

Shaking the tears out of her eyes, Emma smiled and said, "Good night, Huntsman, and good luck on your travels." She left him in the secret room and exited the tavern, sending a discreet nod towards the bartender as she went.

Hood up, she climbed on her horse and nudged him into a trot on the road out of the kingdom. She rode until she was well into the next kingdom before she made camp off the road, well into the forest. Lighting a fire was too risky, so she just lay on the ground, staring up at the stars as she drifted to sleep.

Hours later, just before dawn, she went from asleep to awake in a heartbeat with no discernible reason why. She looked down to see her dagger in her hand, held out in front of her in defense. Slowly, she lifted herself from a prone position to a crouch, eyes scanning the forest around her.

"Well done, dearie. Not many people can sense me coming," an eerie, high-pitched voice said from the tree above her.

Emma immediately jumped away from the tree to get a better look at the dark figure swinging its legs from the branch closest to the ground. "Who are you?" she demanded, pointing her dagger at him and reaching for her sword with the other hand.

He emitted a giggle, which sent shivers dancing up and down her back. "I think you know the answer to that question, dearie."

She scanned her surroundings, searching for her horse, her fastest means of escape. By the time her eyes flickered back up to the tree, the shadowy figure was gone. Startled, she turned around and came face-to-face with the man, an eccentrically dressed creature with sickly, sparkling green skin and large, frog-like eyes. He gave an eccentric bow and said, "Rumplestiltskin, at your service."

Emma's heart stuttered in her chest. "What do you want with me?" she whispered, struggling to maintain a firm tone.

The imp crooked his head to the side, eyes shining spookily in the moonlight. "I'm here to help you, dear princess. I hear you're in the market for an enchanted mirror?"

"How could you know—"

"I've got eyes and ears all over this realm, dearie. There's very little I don't know," he interrupted her, tone turning hard.

She considered her words carefully before she spoke again. "Do you know a way to create an enchanted mirror to trap Regina?"

"Of course I do, dearie!" he cackled, tapping his fingertips together in glee. "And I'll gladly teach you how to do it, for a price!"

Emma hesitated. This was the Dark One, who'd killed Hook's lover and chopped off his hand. She couldn't deal with him for that reason alone. "No thank you," she replied firmly.

"Are you sure? This is a one-time offer, dearie. Once it's gone," he twirled his hands dramatically and snapped his fingers. "It's gone."

"I'm sure," she told him with a nod. "I'll find another way."

He leered at her and growled, "You may come to regret this, princess, when Regina's killing everyone you love and burning your kingdom to the ground."

Emma's heart stuttered in her chest, but the pure malice in his voice prevented her from regretting her choice. "I'll stop Regina, and I can do it without your help."

"We'll see, dearie." And with that he snapped his fingers and disappeared into thin air.

Emma shivered and hugged herself, eyeing the trees surrounding her for the trickster. Finally, she decided she couldn't afford to stay there any longer, especially when Rumplestiltskin knew her location. She found her horse, climbed into the saddle, and rode for her safe house.

/

The sea along the coast of Regina's kingdom was calm for a time the next morning, but around midafternoon, several miles from shore, a maelstrom started spinning in the middle of the water. From the center of the vortex sailed a ship, red and blue with yellow accents, helmed by a rogue in black leather.

The Jolly Roger barreled up the side of the whirlpool and landed in the open water with a splash. The rough current threatened to pull the ship back in, but Hook expertly steered the ship away from the stormy waters. When they were clear, he let out a long breath to calm his excited heart; there really was nothing like portal jumping. He wiped his dripping hair out of his face and licked the salt water off his lips. Inhaling deeply, he smelled the fresh air of the Enchanted Forest, which was far superior to the smoky, sickly sweet atmosphere of Wonderland.

He made his way down to the main deck and took out his eyeglass to determine his exact location. A door behind him opened and a soft voice said, "Well Hook, it appears we've made it back. How long until we reach our destination?"

/

_There were rumors that the giants still had a cache of beans up in their city in the clouds. After Hook had read the contents of the pouch and realized he'd need to find a portal to Wonderland, he'd searched all over the Enchanted Forest for a way to get there. The best lead he had was the giants. He'd bartered a magic brace from a lanky boy with blue eyes and outrageous ears. It would help him reach the top of the beanstalk alive; getting past the giants, on the other hand, would be much more difficult._

_Hook needn't have worried about the giants, though. When he got to the top, he discovered the whole clan had been destroyed, save one. He knocked the giant out with poppy dust he'd pilfered from a warrior in a seedy bar. Then he was able to use a poisoned sword, found amongst the skeletons of the creature's dead family, to kill the remaining giant. Once it was dead, he found the last bean, petrified around the giant's neck. There were mounds of treasure in the giants' home, but Hook took only one other item: a compass that, interestingly enough, did not seem to point north._

_When he returned to the bottom of the beanstalk, he searched for the mythical Lake Nostos, which was said to restore life to cursed items. His bean wasn't cursed, but the lake was his best shot at restoring it and finding a way to open a portal to Wonderland._

_When he finally found the lake, he was confronted by a siren, which took on the appearance of Milah. Though his heart was pounding uncomfortably in his chest, he said, "You cannot fool me, wicked creature. I lived in Neverland for a time. I know how a siren lures its victims to their deaths."_

"_Killian, come to me. Kiss me, my love, and we can be reunited once more," the siren sang, beckoning him into the water._

_She had wildly curly black hair, porcelain skin, and passionate blue eyes. It nearly was Milah. "No," he whispered hoarsely. "No," he repeated more firmly. "You're dead. I held you as you died. You cannot be here with me right now."_

_The siren stepped closer and morphed into a different woman, this one with blonde locks, green eyes, and a smile that lit her up from the inside. "What about me, Killian? I'm still alive. I'm still here and we can be together. Come to me." She held out a hand, droplets of water dripping off the ends of her fingers, mesmerizing him. He took a step closer._

_Triumph lit in her eyes and her grin turned malicious. He paused, confused. He'd never seen that look on her face before; it was pure evil. The realization snapped him back to himself just as the siren pulled him under the water. Luckily, he had enough wits about him to lash out with his hook. The weapon caught the siren in the stomach. She let go of him immediately and blood started spreading through the water. Hook kicked off from the bottom and gulped in air as he emerged from the lake._

_Once he'd coughed up the lake water he'd swallowed and steadied his erratically beating heart, he remembered the form the siren had taken to lure him into the water. "Emma," he said softly. He groaned and lay down, covering his face with his arm. She'd been with him all of two days, and he couldn't seem to forget her. Then he remembered the first form the siren had taken, and he pushed Emma from his mind. He needed to focus on his revenge, for Milah. He pulled the giant's bean out of his jacket pocket and saw it glowing blue with magic. Well, now he had a way to create a portal to Wonderland._

/

Hook turned to look at the woman who'd deigned to stay below deck during the jump between worlds, lest she ruin her gown with salt water. "Cora. We appear to be about half a day's journey from Regina's castle. You'll be reunited with your daughter soon enough."

"Lovely," she sighed, smiling lightly.

"I, for one, would like to disembark _before_ we reach Regina's castle," requested the man who'd clung to the main mast as they'd travelled through the portal. "She's got no reason not to kill me on sight, and I need to get back to my daughter," he muttered, placing his curious top hat on his head.

"Don't worry about Regina, Jefferson. She won't be worrying about you when she sees me walking through her door," Cora announced.

"I'd still rather not take my chances!" The hatter shot back, eyes slightly wide with insanity.

Hook stepped back from their bickering and made his way over to the helm again. Making a detour to deposit Jefferson in the closest town was the least he could do, for what Jefferson did to help him and also to help him keep Cora calm on the journey to see her daughter.

/

_The vault was exactly where Bae had said it would be, in the Queen's maze, hidden beneath one of a million hedges that all looked exactly the same. "Now, if I were a dagger capable of killing the Dark One, where would I be?" he murmured to himself as he went around the room, picking objects up._

"_You certainly wouldn't be out in the open, so easily discovered," a soft voice to his right intoned._

_He turned quickly to see a mirror, but instead of looking upon his own reflection, he saw an older woman staring back at him. She was elegantly dressed in deep red, wearing a smile he supposed was meant to be sweet, but it turned out to be unnerving. "Ah, you must be the Queen of Hearts. I was told I might find you down here," he smirked._

"_Yes," she drawled. "Though you could call me Cora. And who are you?"_

"_Hook," he told her, finding no reason not to reveal his name to her._

"_Clever," she said condescendingly, eyes flicking down to his namesake._

"_Yes, I always thought so." His eyes wandered the vault again, looking for a likely hiding place for the dagger._

"_I told you it's not in here," she said._

"_Yes, and I'm sure you're always honest with pirates looking to loot this vault."_

_She laughed lightly and shrugged elegantly. "You're the first person besides Rumplestiltskin to come in here. I'm actually surprised you found your way in."_

"_I had an inside man," he said, still ignoring her for the most part as he searched for the dagger._

"_I can help you find it," she sang to him, stopping him in his tracks._

"_And why would you do that, darling?" he wondered, lifting a brow at her._

_Instead of answering him, she nodded toward a painting at the other end of the room. "Lift the frame. Behind it lies a safe of sorts, in which you will find the dagger. Take one of those coins, throw it towards the safe, and see what happens."_

_She waited patiently as he did as she said, grinning like a cat when he came back to her, scowling. "How do I get the dagger?"_

"_It's simple, Hook. You get me out of the mirror, and I'll help you get the dagger. I also may be able to help you get close enough to kill the Dark One."_

_He eyed her for a long moment. "How do I get you out of the mirror?"_

_Her eyes gleamed with triumph. "For that, you'll need the vorpal sword."_

_And with that Hook was on another quest to steal the vorpal sword from the Queen of Diamonds. When he returned, bloody, dirty, but triumphant, he used the sword to break the mirror, freeing the Queen of Hearts. Cora then used her magic to break into Rumplestiltskin's safe, retrieve the dagger, and hand it over to Hook._

"_Now what?" he asked her cautiously as he slid the dagger into an inside pocket of his coat._

"_Now, I find a mad hatter and he creates a portal to take us home," she said, the unnerving grin making her look even more sinister._

_They'd found the hatter, locked up in the castle, freed him, and taken him with them on the Jolly Roger. Once Cora applied some of her magic to his hat, he was able to create a portal to the Enchanted Forest. _

/

Hook left Jefferson at the nearest port then he and Cora were on their way to Regina's palace.

"What are you going to do to her?" he wondered. He also wondered if Regina would be there or if Emma and Baelfire had already succeeded in imprisoning her or even killing her.

"I'm going to hug her, of course," Cora said, surprised. "She's my daughter, Hook. I'm not about to rip her heart out."

He flinched slightly at her choice of words. "And then what's the plan for killing Rumplestiltskin?"

She studied him for a moment before she asked, "How would you like to be able to kill him without becoming the Dark One yourself?"

He raised a brow at her. "Is that even possible?"

She laughed wickedly and told him, "Of course it is. We just have to get him to a land without magic."


	7. Chapter Seven

**A/N: As always, thank you for reading, etc!**

**As always, I don't own anything…**

Chapter Seven

Emma travelled through eleven villages before she found someone who could help her. It had been midafternoon when she'd heard of him from a villager, but the sun was setting by the time she found his hut in the middle of the woods. She was wary of magical traps; the man was apparently a very skilled sorcerer who didn't like unexpected company, but Emma didn't have time to waste setting up a more formal meeting.

She needn't be wary, though. The man she was looking for stood waiting for her in the shadow of his front door. Emma dismounted and made her way towards him. "I'm so sorry to disturb you," she began.

He held up a slim hand to halt her apology and stepped outside. He was gorgeous, Emma thought, blushing at the thought. Thick dark hair, wonderfully kissable lips, the most amazing cheekbones she'd ever seen in her entire life, and eyes so blue…well, they reminded her of someone else with blue eyes. She sighed a little in disappointment that she couldn't find another man attractive without seeing something of Hook in him.

He grinned as if he knew what she was thinking. Given the rumors she'd heard about how powerful he was, she wouldn't be surprised. "Come in, your highness. I've been expecting you." He led the way inside and she followed.

"As I started to say before, I really am sorry to come barging into your home like this, but I really need your help," she told him, sitting at a small table when he motioned for her to do so.

His lips quirked into another grin as the teakettle started whistling. "You hardly barged in; I invited you. And if you hadn't been welcome, you wouldn't be here." He poured the water over the teacup sitting at Emma's right and did the same for his own before taking a seat across from her.

She looked to her teacup, pulled it toward her, and sniffed suspiciously. It was her favorite blend. "You knew I'd be here," she stated.

He nodded.

"Do you know why I'm here?" she wondered, spooning the sugar he'd helpfully placed by her setting into her cup.

He nodded again as he took a sip of his own tea.

Hesitantly, hopefully, she asked him, "Can you help me?"

He shook his head as he swallowed and Emma's heart dropped into her stomach. She didn't want to have to go to Rumplestiltskin for help. The sorcerer brought her attention back to him when he clarified, "Not in the way you wish."

She raised a brow. "But you can help in some way?"

He grinned and nodded. "I apprenticed with a skilled herbalist for a long while. I can make a brew that will incapacitate the Queen's magic for a short time. Long enough for you to lock her in an enchanted cell," he said, looking at her pointedly.

Her eyebrows furrowed, and then straightened when realization dawned. "The cell they built for the Dark One beneath my family's castle."

He nodded once and took another sip of his tea.

They were silent for a time then Emma asked warily, "What do you want for the potion?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly.

She merely raised a brow at him.

He laughed. "I can't decide if it's depressing that you're so cynical, or wise that you question a nice gesture."

"Everything is worth something, and everyone wants what they're owed. So what do you want for the potion?" she repeated forcefully.

"Truly, I don't need anything. In fact, I have an overstock of the herbs required for the brew; some idiot pirate on a suicide mission traded them to me for a magic climbing brace," he said, sitting back and watching her closely as he took another drink.

Emma's heart pounded in her chest. "An idiot pirate? Did he have a name?"

His eyebrow rose. "I imagine so. Most people do," he said with a laugh.

She huffed and scooted closer to him, practically leaning across the table. "Did he have a hook for a hand?"

His lips twitched and he looked off into the distance. "Now that you mention it, I do remember a hook attachment."

Emma leaned back and let out a slow breath. "Did…did he say where he was going?"

He studied her closely before he leaned forward to set his teacup on the table. "Yes, he was going to climb the beanstalk and confront the giants for a portal bean. He was a very resourceful man; I imagine he succeeded."

Emma sighed and rubbed her eyes. _Where would he have gone? Is he still there?_ "Yes, I imagine he did," she murmured.

"Princess," he started, placing a hand on hers.

"Emma," she said forcefully. "Call me Emma, please."

"Emma," he said gently. "Do you remember how I knew you were coming?"

She met his clear blue eyes and nodded slowly.

His hand gripped hers. "It may take a long time, but everything is going to be alright."

Emma smiled tremulously, tears of relief gathering in her eyes. "Thank you, Sorcerer."

He grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Call me Merlin."

/

To say Regina was surprised to see the Jolly Roger approach her castle with Hook and _her mother_ at the helm was probably an understatement. To say her subsequent scream could be heard in the lower town was probably an exaggeration. To say she met them at the docks with fifty armed men and a protective force field that extended forty feet in every direction was not.

"Regina!" Cora called, smiling and opening her arms in invitation as she disembarked.

"Mother," Regina called, significantly more subdued. "What are you doing here? I thought you were happily reigning in Wonderland." Her force field stayed up even when her mother pressed against it with her own magic.

"Is that what he told you, dear? My, my, that man has a lot to answer for," Cora replied mildly.

"What do you mean?" Regina stepped forward and allowed for a little less space between her mother and herself.

"Rumplestiltskin, of course. I assume he's the one who taught you about magic?" At Regina's hesitant nod of confirmation, Cora bared her teeth. "Well he's also the one who banished me to a looking-glass in Wonderland. I've only just escaped."

"Escaped? I do believe I had a bit of a hand in your rescue, Cora," Hook glowered from her side.

"Perhaps just the one," Cora replied mildly, not taking her eyes off Regina.

Regina turned her eyes to Hook at the remark and said, "I don't believe we've been introduced."

Before Hook could respond, Cora interrupted. "Perhaps we might relocate to a more private place, dear. There are things we need to discuss."

Regina merely lifted a brow and inclined her head, indicating Cora and Hook should follow her into the palace.

Once they were alone, Cora began detailing her plans. "Hook helped me escape Rumplestiltskin's prison, and in return I helped him retrieve his dagger from his safe."

Regina looked to Hook with new interest. "And now you'd like to kill him and become the Dark One?"

Hook shook his head and leaned closer to her. "If it was the last resort, but your mother has a far better plan in store for all of us," he grinned, leering down at her suggestively.

Regina shifted her gaze to Cora in question but did not move away from Hook.

Cora smiled and said, "I have in my possession a curse which will take away everyone's happy endings. I assume you still haven't succeeded in your vendetta against dear Snow?"

Regina, whose eyes had lit up at the idea of the curse, scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "No. She's living happily ever after with her Prince Charming and their two brats. Though," she said brightly, "I have had the elder brat on the run for the last few years."

"And you still haven't managed to kill her?" Cora scolded lightly. "Dear Regina, you must let me help you. Let me cast the curse," she persuaded.

"What exactly does this curse do?" she questioned. "Something truly terrible, I hope. Snow's been allowed to live for too long," she snarled.

Cora's smile widened. "It transports everyone in the Enchanted Forest to a land without magic. Once there, everyone's happy endings are ripped from them, their memories are erased, and they a life _you_ choose for them. All except those you choose to exclude from the curse, of course," she reassured her daughter.

Regina considered it for a long moment, tapping her red nails on her lips in thought. "And we'd all be there, in a land without magic?" She questioned. When her mother nodded encouragingly she asked suspiciously, "Why would you want to go there? You love your magic."

Cora looked taken aback. "Not more than I love you, dear. And once we get there, my only enemy will be powerless. Hook will be able to kill the Dark One without having to inherit his powers. It's a win for all of us."

Regina continued to eye her mother suspiciously. Finally, imagining Snow White's children and her precious Prince Charming being ripped away from her, she asked, "What would I have to do to enact the curse?"

/

On the outskirts of Regina's kingdom, not far from the tavern in which she'd met the Huntsman, Emma set up camp in a large cave. She was supposed to be meeting her contact in Regina's castle to get a message to Bae about the plan to stop Regina.

She hadn't lit a fire, lest it be seen by any of Regina's patrols, but the shelter of the cave provided sufficient protection from the elements. She was just dozing off near the entrance, dagger in her lap, when she suddenly tensed. Just like the time when she'd known Hook was following her, she knew someone was out in the trees outside the cave, watching her. She gripped the dagger tighter and worked to keep her breathing even so they wouldn't know they'd been found out.

"What gave me away?" came the question a moment later, far too close to her ear.

Her heart swelled and her eyes filled with tears but she kept her voice even and her eyes forward. "You're loud as an ogre, that's what gave you away."

There was a shocked silence before he said, "You take that back right now."

Emma finally turned her head and met her father's smiling blue eyes. "Make me," she said, choking on her words.

He leaned forward to embrace her, placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "My silly swan," he used the endearment she'd told him to stop using since she'd been twelve, but she didn't comment on it now. "I've missed you."

A half-sob half-laugh escaped her as she squeezed him hard. "I've missed you too, Dad."

He pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. "Come on," he said, standing. "We have better go find your mother."

She took his outstretched hand and he helped her up. "Mom's here too?"

He grinned and nodded, placing her arm through his as he led her into the woods. "Of course. She wasn't going to miss this battle. She says it's her fight anyway, not yours."

Emma leaned her head on her father's shoulder as they walked, breathing in his subtle scent: leather and horse and Dad. "I'm so glad you're here," she sighed.

He kissed her temple and said, "Me too, Em."

They stopped when they heard a scuffle ahead in the woods. They shared a look, unsheathed their swords, and nodded, both racing forward to confront the enemy. Of course, by the time they got there, they really weren't needed.

Snow had a man facedown on the ground in front of her. She was standing with her foot planted firmly in the middle of his back and an arrow aimed at his head. "Who are you and what are you doing so far from the village?" she demanded, pressing her foot harder into his back.

Emma looked down at the man and rushed forward. "Mom! Stop! It's okay, he's my contact in Regina's palace. He's supposed to meet me tonight."

Snow looked up, eyes still narrowed. "You're sure he's not a spy for Regina?"

"Yes, I'm sure. He's a spy for us," Emma said with a nod.

"Alright," Snow said, removing her foot and loosening her bow. "Sorry." She helped the man up and started brushing off his clothes.

"It's alright, my lady," the man returned, shaking and pale.

Snow turned back to her daughter and her eyes narrowed once again. "You," she said, stalking forward. "Are in so much trouble, young lady." She placed her hands on Emma's cheeks and smiled softly. "But I'm very happy to see you." Their embrace was longer, with Emma's head buried in Snow's shoulder, gripping her mother tightly.

"I missed you, Mom," she whispered into her black locks.

Snow responded by rubbing circles into Emma's back, like she'd done when Emma was young and had woken up in the middle of the night from bad dreams, crying for her parents to rescue her.

Charming cleared his throat and nodded meaningfully at Emma's contact when her eyes met his over Snow's shoulder. She nodded and pulled away, wiping the tears from her face. "Give me a minute to talk to him?" she asked her parents.

They were reluctant to let her leave their sight after they'd just found her again, but they knew better than anyone that sometimes war strategy took priority over a little family time. Emma walked a ways into the woods with the young man and detailed the plan to stop Regina and the instructions he was to give Bae about giving the potion to her. Finally, she handed over the small vial with the draught and cautioned him to be careful with it; she didn't have any more.

Once he was on his way, Emma made her way back to her parents, who'd decided to make camp in her cave for the night.

"How did you find me?" she asked them as she settled in closer to her mother. She rolled her eyes when her father opened his mouth to speak. "And if you tell me some drivel about how 'we always find each other' I will run away again."

Snow squeezed her in warning but laughed. "It was an educated guess," she said. "I grew up around here, and when I ran away I spent a lot of time in these forests. We've been around for a couple days, ever since we received your letter from the Huntsman."

Emma relaxed further into her mother's embrace, settling her head on Snow's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear he made it to you alright."

"It was risky rescuing him the way you did," Charming admonished. "But I'm glad you did. I owe that man my life, and yours. He deserves to be free of Regina."

"Speaking of Regina," Snow said. "What's the plan? We're not going to kill her, are we?"

Emma pulled away to look Snow in the eyes. "Mom. She's been trying to kill you for longer than I've been alive. She's been trying to kill _me_. And you're worried that _we'll_ kill _her_?"

Snow winced and stroked Emma's hair out of her face. "I know, I know. But she used to be a good, loving person. I think she could be that person again."

Emma rolled her eyes and lay down with her head in Snow's lap. "Yeah, maybe. Like when pigs fly."

/

While the Charming family was reunited, Bae paced the room, thinking over what he'd just been told. There was no way to trap Regina in a mirror, but they could incapacitate her long enough to imprison her, using the brew he now had in his pocket. He fingered it nervously as he continued to pace, wondering if it could truly incapacitate someone with power like Regina's.

The door creaked open and he immediately dropped his hand, turning to watch Regina enter, a radiant smile on her face. "Bae," she murmured, walking over to him and taking his hands in hers. "Thank you for staying out of sight today," she said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

He linked their fingers and said, "I'll always do as you ask, Regina. I know you wouldn't have done so without good reason. What's going on?"

She let out a shaky breath. "It's my mother. She's just arrived from Wonderland."

Sensing her rioting emotions, Bae pulled her close and rubbed a soothing hand down her back. "I take it she's not the most welcome of guests?"

She embraced him tightly, breathing him in to calm her racing heart. "No," she whispered. "When I was a young woman I was in love with a boy. Then she found out my secretfrom _Snow White_," she snarled, then took a calming breath and focused on Bae again. "She found his social standing to be…lacking, so she ripped out his heart and crushed it in front of me." She buried her face in his chest when she felt him stiffen and said, "That's not something I can allow her to do to you."

He pulled her back and looked down into her eyes. "She's that powerful?"

Regina nodded. "Her powers rival mine. We are going to have to be very careful while she's here."

Bae pulled her close again and murmured into her hair, "Yes. We're going to have to be very careful."

**A/N: I was having major Merlin feels when I wrote that scene. I MISS MY BB'S! No regrets though. It is possible to love more than one Colin. Who is from Ireland. WTF is up with that country and beautiful men, anyways?**


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N: Thank you for reading, etc! I especially love your comments!**

**I don't own OUAT.**

Chapter Eight

In the late hours of the night, three dark shadows crept up to the side of the castle. The moon was just a sliver, so their presence went undetected by the guards stationed above. Emma's contact within the castle had helpfully left a lower door unlocked, so she and her parents slipped in quickly and breathed a sigh of relief that there was no one on the other side.

Their plan was tricky. They had to capture Regina shortly after giving her the potion in order to get her back to the enchanted cell before it wore off. However, they couldn't exactly drag the Queen out of her own palace in broad daylight. Emma had sent word to Bae through their contact that he should slip Regina the draught in a nightcap. Shortly thereafter, Emma and her parents would arrive to sneak Regina away through the castle and out to the forest, where a carriage was waiting for them.

They made their way through the servants' passages up to Regina's rooms, expecting that would be the place she would be that time of night. They were just down the hall when Snow heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks. "That's Cora," she hissed at Emma and Charming, placing a hand on each of their arms to stop them moving forward.

Emma shifted closer. "Who's Cora?" she whispered.

"Regina's mother, and a very powerful sorceress. This plan isn't going to work."

Emma bit her lip, debating. Her heart stopped when she heard a deep, familiar voice coming from the same room. "Hook," she murmured, an icicle forming in her stomach.

"Who?" her father questioned her.

She shook her head. There was too much to explain in only a sentence or two. "He must be working with them to get to Rumplestiltskin," she murmured to herself. "What should we do?" Emma turned her eyes to her parents.

"Bae may have already given Regina the potion," Snow whispered. "This may be our only chance to get her out without having to combat her magic."

Emma nodded in agreement. "Then we go for Regina and get her out of here as quietly as possible. Hopefully no one will notice she's gone until tomorrow, and then we can worry about Cora and Hook."

Charming nudged both of their arms when a third voice entered the room. "Or not." They all exchanged looks, communicating with their eyes a new plan.

"Surprise them and take Regina now?" Emma suggested after a while.

Snow let out a shaky breath. "If Bae gave Regina the potion, all we'll really have to worry about is Cora's magic and Hook. He doesn't have magic, does he?"

Emma bit her lip. "Hook is Peter. And no, he doesn't have any magic, that I know of."

Her parents froze and stared at her, mouths gaping. "Little Peter from the kitchens? Why—"

Emma held up her hand to forestall their questions. "No time right now. All you need to know is, he's got his own agenda and it appears working with Regina and Cora are on it. You can't trust him. I'll handle him." She exhaled shakily and closed her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them, her parents were watching her carefully. "Are we ready?"

They both nodded to her and she led them into the room.

/

"What game are you playing, Cora?" Hook was leaning on the mantle, sharpening his namesake.

"Whatever do you mean, Captain?" she asked innocently from her chair a few feet away.

He resisted the urge to bare his teeth at her. "I mean, what's your endgame? Because you, acting like a concerned parent, working for the happiness of her child? It doesn't ring true to me."

Cora smiled and said, "My, my. You're a suspicious one, aren't you?"

He stalked closer and leaned over her chair. "Only when I know I'm being played. If what you've got up your sleeve doesn't concern me, I don't care what you do. My only concern is that I won't be achieving my goal."

"Have no fear, Captain," she said lightly, not even batting an eyelash at his close proximity. "Rumplestiltskin will die, of that I can assure you."

Hook eyed her suspiciously, sensing there was still something important she was failing to tell him. Before he could question her further, Regina stepped into the room. "Mother, Hook. I thought we might talk further on this curse you're so keen to enact."

"Yes, of course dear. What did you wish to know?" Cora stood and moved closer to her daughter.

Regina eyed Hook and asked, "I assume you'll want your memories to remain intact?"

"Of course I bloody well want them to remain intact," he scowled at her. "All I want is to get to the land without magic and kill my crocodile. Is that too much to ask?"

She nodded and turned back to her mother. "And then you and I will travel there as well, keeping our memories, but everyone else loses theirs. How do I know they won't just find their happy endings again on their own?" It would be just her luck to use the curse to separate Snow and her Prince Charming, only for them to fall in love again in the new world.

Cora laughed and shook her head. "The curse prevents such things from happening. They could be living next door to each other for years and never interact because of the design of the curse." She looked positively gleeful as she explained it.

Regina grinned and murmured to herself, "And I would be able to watch every second of her misery." Finally she sighed and said, "Alright. Let's cast the curse and take everyone to a land without magic."

"I don't think so, Regina. Haven't you hurt everyone enough?" Snow's voice murmured from the other side of the room.

Regina, Cora, and Hook all turned to see Snow, an arrow aimed at Regina, Charming and Emma on either side of her. Regina raised her eyebrows. "Snow White. How nice to see you," she said flatly. Her eyes flickered over the other two. "Charming," she sneered. "And Princess Emma. What are you doing here?"

Snow's soft voice never wavered. "We're here for you, Regina. This war between us has gone on long enough and I'm ready for it to end."

Regina laughed and took a seat. "You're here to kill me? I think you greatly overestimate yourselves. I could snap my fingers and kill you in a second. In fact…" she lifted her hand, thumb and middle finger poised to snap.

Snow lowered her bow slightly and said, "I'm not here to kill you, Regina. We're here to take you to a prison, where you can never harm anyone in the name of your vengeance again."

Hook, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, was watching Emma, who hadn't looked at him once since entering the room. He noticed her eyes flicker to him and her breath hitch when her mother talked about Regina's vengeance. He started forward slowly but stopped when Charming's head whipped around to glare at him.

"Good luck with that," Regina drawled, snapping her fingers. She looked mildly confused for a moment.

Snow took the opportunity to loose her arrow toward Regina. It whipped past her and embedded itself in the back of her chair. Regina's eyes widened. "I don't need luck, Regina."

That's when all hell broke loose. Charming went after Cora, who up until then, had been standing in the background, smiling at the scene before her. She raised her hand and sent wisps of purple magic his way, which he deflected with his sword. "A sword forged in dragon's breath. The only weapon that can deflect my magic. Impressive," she intoned, shooting fire at him this time.

"A gift from a sorcerer to my daughter. I'm just borrowing it," he mentioned, swinging out at her while ducking to avoid the trail of fire.

/

Meanwhile, Snow approached Regina with a sword of her own. "Please Regina, just come with us nicely. I don't want to hurt you."

"Well maybe I want to hurt you," she growled, slipping a long dagger out of her dress sleeve and lashing out at Snow. She deflected it easily and sent a pleading look to her stepmother.

"Regina, it doesn't have to be like this!" Snow deflected another blow easily but made no move to retaliate.

"Oh, I think it does." She slashed again and forced Snow to move closer to the wall.

/

"Why are you here?" Emma asked as she cautiously approached Hook, her father's sword unsheathed next to her.

Hook shrugged and made no move towards his weapon. "Cora helped me acquire my dagger. She's helping me kill my crocodile without becoming the Dark One. It was a pretty win-win plan for me."

"But—" Emma's breathing hitched. "But you knew you'd be helping Regina destroy my family," she said quietly.

He nodded with a grim smile. "That's the thing about vengeance, princess. You'll do anything to achieve it." With that he pulled his sword from his belt.

"Are you really going to do this to me?" she wondered.

He lifted his sword and slashed towards her. She blocked and stepped back, giving them more room to fight. "I really am," he sneered.

/

Regina had Snow backed to a wall, and despite Snow having the longer weapon, Regina was in the position of power. Snow still wasn't willing to kill Regina. She smiled wickedly at Snow and raised her dagger to strike. "Well, it looks like I won't be needing that curse after all."

Snow ducked and rolled, coming up behind Regina with her blade to her neck. "No, you won't, Regina."

At that moment, the door burst open and Bae rushed in. "Wait!" he said breathlessly.

"Bae!" Regina cried, half elated and half terrified. She sent a panicked look toward her mother, who was still battling Charming on the other side of the room.

Hook's jaw dropped, along with his arm, and Emma stepped away from him, lowering her sword as well. She looked a little startled at the tone of Regina's exclamation.

Bae took in the room and cautiously made his way over to Regina, who was still standing in front of Snow, her blade at Regina's neck. He avoided eye contact with everyone else. "Regina…" he hesitated. Confusion entered her eyes as she realized neither Snow nor Emma were threatening him to stay away from her. "Regina, I'm sorry," he whispered, coming forward and gently covering her mouth with a rag.

Bae saw understanding enter her eyes, then hurt, rage, and nothing as the drug worked to make her pass out.

Cora let out a scream of rage and blasted Charming back, taking him by surprise with her sudden action. Emma left a still-stunned Hook to attend to her father, while Bae and Snow started avoiding Cora's fireballs.

Emma took up her sword from her father's limp hand and yelled at her mother, "Switch!" Snow nodded and ran over to engage Hook, who was heading towards Emma again, while Emma took on Cora, leaving Bae hovering over Regina's motionless body.

"You must be Snow's brat," Cora conversed, firing wisps of magic and fire at Emma.

"And you must be Regina's grandmother," Emma shot back, deflecting her throws.

Cora snarled at her and increased the power of her blows. "I look forward to ending your life, child."

Emma chose not to respond and kept deflecting her magic with ease. Finally, Cora sent a stream of magic towards Emma's leg, tripping her. Cora stepped forward and kicked the blade from Emma's hand. With the aid of magic, Cora lifted Emma in front of her and plunged her hand into Emma's chest. "You're a foolish girl," she cackled.

Snow and Hook stopped fighting immediately and both took an involuntary step closer to Cora and Emma. Bae stood, startled, but didn't move away from Regina. Cora squeezed Emma's heart, making her gasp.

Snow put her hands out in front of her and said, "Cora, don't. Please."

Cora looked over to her and snarled, "Why should I show mercy to your daughter when you've shown none to mine tonight?"

When Cora squeezed her heart again, Emma's eyes were drawn to Hook, pale and shaking next to her mother. His eyes were fixed on Cora's arm, buried deep in Emma's chest.

"Please, Cora. I'll do anything," Snow was begging.

Cora laughed evilly and shook her head at the sentiment. "Don't you know? Love is weakness." Snow and Hook both lurched forward as she pulled on Emma's heart.

Emma's whole body heaved forward with her tug, refusing to release her heart. Cora's eyes widened. "That's not possible." She tried to tug again, but a white light burst from Emma's chest and threw her into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

Emma's hands rested on her chest, above her wildly beating heart, breath heaving in and out of her chest. She met her mother's eyes and nodded that she was fine when she saw the concern in them. "We need to go," she whispered.

Snow and Emma moved to pick up Charming's unconscious body while Bae moved to do the same to Regina.

Hook leaped up and lifted his sword again. "Leave her," he snarled, chest heaving.

Emma looked over to him in confusion. "Hook, she's going to—"

He avoided her eyes. "I know what she's going to do," he said quietly. "She's going to help me achieve my revenge. Leave. Her."

Tears flooded Emma's eyes involuntarily. "So you're going to choose your revenge over…" Her smile looked more like a grimace. "Well, I guess I never really was an option, was I?" He looked up at that, a question in his eyes. "I'd wish you good luck, Hook, but since we're going to be on opposite sides of this war…" she shrugged. "I'll just say goodbye, then. Let's go Bae."

Bae moved away from Regina's prone body and led the way out of the room via the servants' corridors again. Hook watched them go, tempted to follow, but he knew he had to avenge Milah, and he knew his best chance was to help Regina enact the curse.

He checked Regina's pulse and found her to be fine, in nothing more than a deep sleep. He looked up towards Cora and found he was more reluctant to check on her. Looking at her, he couldn't get the image of Cora's arm out of his mind, half-buried in Emma's chest, ready to rip her heart out. In that moment, his own heart had frozen, and he'd flashed back to the moment when the Dark One had done the same to Milah. How his hand had thrust into her chest. The shocked look on her face when he'd pulled her heart out. The way she fell to the deck and Killian caught her. The second her dull blue eyes met his, frightened, regretful, knowing she was about to die. The way she'd whispered, "I love you," to him one last time before the Dark One had crushed her heart in his hand.

Hook had imagined the same happening to Emma, and for a second all he could think was _not again, not again, not again_. When Cora hadn't been able to take her heart, his had started beating again. He'd let out a relieved sigh and Snow had looked over at him curiously. In that moment, watching Emma glow gold with magic, Hook wondered what it might be like to kiss her, be with her. Then he'd looked over at Cora, remembered what she had done, and remembered why he was there in the first place. Emma might be okay, but Milah hadn't been. He had to remember Milah: the reason he'd been working towards Rumplestiltskin's end for the last six years. So he'd made Emma leave Regina behind. She and her mother were the only ones willing to help him with his revenge, and he had to remember that.

As he left the room to find a servant to see to the women, he thought about Emma's comment as she left. _I guess I never really was an option, was I? _She couldn't have possibly meant what he thought—what he _wanted_—her to mean. He was a pirate bent on revenge, with a wasted heart. He'd never be good enough, or truly love her, anyways.


	9. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Thanks for all the support for this story!**

**I don't own OUAT, unfortunately, but the characters are so much fun to play with…**

Part Three- Two Months Later

Chapter Nine

The clearing near the lake was too quiet. Fog drifted around, obscuring Emma's vision, but she could hear just fine. There was no sound of early-rising birds singing in the trees. No insect noises. She couldn't even hear the wind blowing through the grass. Everything was still, but the muscles in Emma's back were tensed, and the grip she held around her sword was turning her knuckles white. She let out a slow breath and closed her eyes to sense what was around her. Without warning, she turned around and lifted her sword and the clanging of metal broke the silence.

Emma slashed downward, forcing her opponent's blade away from her. "There's something about your magic, I think, which alerts me to your presence. It's black as night," she murmured, backing away and readying her sword for another blow.

It came almost instantly and took all her strength to parry. "Well, dearie, that's the difference between the two of us. I got my powers through murder, whereas you got yours from true love." Rumplestiltskin's sneer merely made her roll her eyes and thrust toward him again.

"Is that why Cora couldn't take my heart?" she wondered aloud, as she often had over the course of the last two months.

The Dark One merely slashed at her again, nicking her side in the process. She glared and swept her sword across his hard enough to make him lose his weapon. He lifted his hands and started throwing magic and fire at her, which she deflected with her sword.

"That's a handy sword, there, dearie. Where did you say you got it again?"

Huffing, Emma said, "I didn't," and kept parrying his blows, stepping closer to him all the while.

"Hmm," he eyed the sword with interest. "It would take a lot of power to force a dragon to forge such a blade."

Emma, who had little knowledge of the blade's past, used his distraction to edge closer, still deflecting his magic.

Rumplestiltskin looked up, his eyes shining with glee. "Tell me the name of the sorcerer who gave it to you," he demanded.

"No," Emma said, finally reaching him and holding the blade to his neck. "You're dead."

They stared at each other silently for a moment before he said, "If I were Regina, I might be, dearie. But simply cutting off her head will not work for Cora."

Emma stepped back and sheathed her sword. "Why not?" she wondered.

"Cora's removed her heart from her chest. You can't kill someone who doesn't have a heart," he said slyly.

"And I suppose you know where her heart is," Emma stated, bored.

He stepped closer and held up a finger. "But of course. And I'd be glad to tell you where it is, for a price!"

"Enough, Papa," came Bae's voice from somewhere in the fog.

Rumplestiltskin immediately dropped his hand and his voice took on a more conciliatory quality. "Of course, Bae. Old habit. I will, of course, help you to obtain Cora's heart," he told his son as Bae emerged from the fog.

He rubbed his eyes wearily and grunted, "Please do. I'm ready for this to be over."

Emma stepped closer and lay a comforting hand on his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head and his bloodshot eyes met her own. "No, I'm not. Regina's men are closing in on us again."

She studied him for a moment, ignoring Rumplestiltskin's uneasy shuffling behind her. "We'll go home, then." Bae looked up at her, a question in his eyes. "My parents will have started to gather their army by now anyways, having heard that Regina's amassing hers. We need to be there to help plan the battle."

Rumplestiltskin chose that moment to speak up. "I'll be on my way to collect Cora's heart," he said quietly.

It was funny, Emma thought, but he sounded almost human when he was around his son.

Bae nodded and stepped away from Emma, dipping his head towards the woods to indicate he wanted a moment with his father. Emma went to gather their things while Bae said goodbye and thought about Rumplestiltskin's actions over the last months.

When he'd found out Bae was working with Emma and her parents, he'd immediately offered his services to help at no cost. Emma was initially wary of such an offer, both because he was known for his shady deals across the land and because the man had killed Milah and cut off Hook's hand. However, Bae had taken her aside and explained that his father had been looking for him for a very long time and was unlikely to do anything to make Bae regret putting his faith in his father again. She was still wary, but they needed the Dark One's help, so she hadn't quibbled about it.

Rumplestiltskin had been teaching her how to use her magic, mostly to help protect her family and herself. She looked down at the gash she'd sustained when she'd been sparring with him. It was barely a scratch, not even bleeding a lot anymore, but if it hadn't been for her magic, it might have been a mortal wound. His sword had glanced off the side of her protection spell, injuring her, but not critically. She thought about using her magic to heal the wound, but it really wasn't that bad and she didn't want to waste her energy on such a small thing when they'd be making a run for home soon.

Home, she smiled to herself. She'd finally she Henry again, and her parents, Red, Grumpy and the others. Her grin widened in anticipation.

"Ready to go?" Bae asked as he walked up.

"Absolutely," she laughed, skipping through the forest towards home.

/

Hook slashed at Regina in the courtyard, practicing deflecting her magic just as Emma was practicing deflecting Rumplestiltskin's. They practiced without speaking until both were exhausted. Hook merely raised an eyebrow at Regina and she nodded that they would take a short break. It had become a regular occurrence for them to meet in the courtyard to practice almost until they dropped, then cool down with a walk in Regina's gardens.

"How long do you think before they advance their army towards us?" Hook wondered aloud, refusing the apple Regina had offered him from her tree.

"No more than a week," she murmured, taking a bite.

They advanced a little further in silence before Hook observed, "You don't seem as enthusiastic about this as I would have thought, based on your years-long feud with Snow White."

Regina ignored his statement and glanced around carefully. With a wave of her hand she cast a privacy spell, which had Hook raising an eyebrow in question. "What is my mother planning?"

He looked confused for a moment, but Regina caught a peculiar look in his eyes. "What do you mean? She wants to enact the curse to send everyone to a world without magic."

Regina shook her head. "But you know she's up to something. You may not know what, but you know she's not being truthful with you."

He hesitated and then nodded. "I've thought she was keeping something from me from the start."

"She always does," she murmured. Her gaze focused back in on Hook. "What do you suspect?"

"I suspect she has her own agenda and that it does not coincide with yours."

She nodded in agreement. "I'm not surprised. She's always acted in her own best interest rather than mine," her voice trailed off and her eyes turned glassy, focused on a dark night when she'd been young and lost everything.

"What do you suggest we do?" Hook asked cautiously. It wouldn't do to have his two best chances for finally taking his revenge fighting each other rather than Rumplestiltskin.

Regina considered for a long moment. "Nothing, for now. We need to wait until we have a better idea of her plans." She moved to start walking again, but Hook suddenly had a thought. He grabbed her elbow, and she raised an imperious brow at him but did not comment.

"Why have you spent the last two months impeding your mother's efforts to capture Baelfire?"

She let out a gasp and wrenched her arm out of his hand. He looked at her, imploring, needing her answer to be an honest one. She must have seen the desperation in his eyes because she said softly, "I need his heart to enact the curse."

She stepped away from him slowly, keeping eye contact until he nodded. They went inside without exchanging another word.

/

They'd been walking silently for nearly an hour and Emma was wringing her hands, questions swirling through her head.

Bae gave her a sidelong look and rolled his eyes. "Ask."

She shot him a look and asked, "How do you know I want to ask you something?"

He merely smirked and sent her a knowing look. She huffed but took the opportunity to ask, "Over the last couple of months I've seen you with your father and it would appear you care for him. Why did you help Hook obtain the dagger if he's going to use it to destroy your father?"

Bae's gait slowed slightly for a moment and then he sped up again. "He wasn't always the Dark One," he started after a long pause. "He used to be an ordinary man. Well," he corrected himself ruefully. "He wasn't ordinary. The people in my village called him a coward for running from the Ogre Wars. He was the village joke and I was the son of a coward."

"When I was fourteen I was to be recruited to join the fight. My father, terrified for my life, stole the Dark One's dagger and killed him with it, thus becoming the Dark One himself. With all of those powers, he was able to stop the Ogre Wars and keep me safe. But the power…" Bae shook his head and sighed heavily. "The power consumed him. He wasn't my papa anymore, so I ran away." His voice faded and his eyes seemed far away.

Finally he turned back to Emma and sent a short smile her way. "He's spent a very long time looking for me, and now that we're reunited…" he shrugged. "I will not deny I have missed him, and it is easy to see glimpses of my father under the skin of Hook's crocodile. However, I do understand that the man who was my father is gone forever. These last months…I chose to use the monster living in the shell of his body to help me with my own ends."

"And those are?" Emma questioned as they climbed over a fallen tree. They took a moment to breathe and sat on the decaying trunk.

"I want to get rid of Dark Magic, Emma," he stated. "Magic can be used for good, I know, but Dark Magic is a toxin that we need to purge from the world. I gave Hook the location of the dagger in the hopes that he can both free my father from his curse and try to turn the dagger's use to good."

Stunned, Emma shook her head. "You think _Hook_ is the best person to be taking control of the Dark One's powers?"

Bae laughed at her incredulity. "You underestimate him, Emma. He used to be a good man, and I think he is strong-willed enough to take the powers and not let them consume him. He can be a good man again and use the dagger's magic for good."

"I think you overestimate him," Emma said bluntly. "That man may have a sliver of good in him, but I don't think he will be using the Dark One's powers to do good. It will corrupt the overwhelming darkness in his heart just as it corrupted your father. Then what happens? Then what will you do?"

Bae shrugged again and stood. "Then I'll find a way to imprison him forever. As long as my father is dead but free from his curse, I am happy."

Emma hurried to catch up. "That's all you care about? Freeing your father from the curse of the Dark One?"

"Yes," he answered shortly.

Emma stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. "What about Regina?"

He stopped and turned back to her, eyes narrowed. "What about Regina?"

"You were her lover. I knew it when you walked in and she called out to you," she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes and turned to keep walking. "Yes, I was. I needed to earn her trust, and sleeping with her seemed the easiest and quickest way to do it."

Emma ran in front of him to look him in the eyes. "You developed feelings for her," she accused. Before he could deny it, she continued. "What do you think about _her_ magic?"

It took him a second to form his response. "It's Dark Magic, and she needs to be locked up! I told you that when we first started working together all those months ago!"

"You're lying!" she yelled. "You told me she needed to be destroyed! And now you're content if she's just locked up? Baelfire, you are lying to me and to yourself." She took a few calming breaths and touched his arm gently. "Do you really think you'll be able to watch us lock her up and then just walk away?" Her look was one of concern and pity.

"I'm going to have to, aren't I?" he shot back. He scrubbed his hand down his face and sighed. "Emma, I swear to you, I will help you get this done. No matter my feelings for Regina, _negligible_ as they may be," he emphasized when he saw a triumphant look enter her eyes. "I still don't want Dark Magic poisoning our lives. Regina and Cora and Rumplestiltskin all need to be stopped, no matter the cost."

Emma nodded, though she wasn't entirely easy with nor convinced of his response. She'd just have to put some faith in him and hope he stuck to his word.

/

Hook was in his cabin on the Jolly Roger, leaning back in his desk chair and eyeing his bed. Specifically, he was eyeing the side of the bed Emma had slept on the night she'd been looking after him after the storm. He'd been sleeping off his injury most of the night, hardly aware of her presence, but now, even eight months later, his bed still felt…strange without her. Not empty, he thought to himself, shaking his head. Just different, and not in a good way.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes against the sight of his not-empty bed. _One night_. It had been Milah's side of the bed for ten years, he'd been alone in the bed for six years. Emma slept there for one night and he couldn't stop picturing her there, couldn't help the feeling of rightness that spread through him as he pictured it.

_Milah_. Not for the first time in the last two months Hook tried to picture her face. Not for the first time, Emma's face slowly intruded on his mental image of her. Not for the first time, Hook started to think that maybe moving on would be okay.

When had Emma become more important than his revenge? He tried to think back on it, as far as the moment he'd heard he would be finding her for a meeting with Baelfire.

_"I'll give you the location of the dagger," Bae said, "If you bring someone to me."_

_ "He's your father. Why would you give me the means to destroy him?" Hook questioned suspiciously._

_ "I've been running from him for a long time, as you know from the time we spent together in Neverland. After I left, I travelled all over the realms trying to find a way to end his curse and I've found none." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I just want him free of the curse, and the only way to do that is to kill him with the dagger." They were both silent a moment, contemplating Bae's suggestion. Finally, he shrugged, "It might as well be you, after what he did to Milah. And maybe you can control the magic, once you have it."_

_ Hook nodded. He had no reason to distrust Bae, even if it was strange that he was giving Hook the key to his own father's destruction. "Who do you need me to fetch for you?"_

_ "A Princess. Snow and Charming's daughter, Emma."_

_ Hook's heart started pounding harder. He hadn't seen her in twenty-two years, and he'd changed so much during that time, she likely wouldn't even recognize him. Bae wasn't going to hurt her, he knew that much about the man, so why did he feel guilty when he agreed to find her for him?_

That hadn't been the moment. He was still too invested in his revenge to care more about her well-being. It hadn't been at the tavern where she'd been working, even though he'd risked himself to distract Regina's guards when they'd come in looking for her. It wasn't one of the nights on the Jolly, when they'd practiced their sword-fighting, or played poker, or when she'd refused to let him go on deck without her during the storm. And it wasn't when he'd seen her six months after he'd left her, bursting into Regina's rooms at the palace and questioning his alliance with them.

He shoved away from his desk and paced his quarters, avoiding looking at the bed. Taken individually, there was no reason any of their interactions since he'd found her at the tavern should make him question the prudence of his revenge. All together though…he growled as he shoved through the door and stalked to the upper deck of the ship. There was another person he suspected might be experiencing this same nagging doubt about their path to vengeance. He needed to talk to Regina.


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Thank so much for reading! I love all of your wonderful reviews!**

**Note: I don't own anything. Sadness.**

Chapter Ten

It was nearly dawn by the time they arrived at the palace. Bae had wanted to rest for the night, but Emma had wanted to get home, so they'd walked through the darkness. Not wanting to wake the entire castle up with their arrival, Emma used her magic to hide them from view as they made their way across the bridge to the lower gate, all through the small village that surrounded the castle, and up through the main gate. "I'll leave you in one of the guest chambers," she whispered to Bae as they walked slowly up the stairs. "I have something I need to do before I can wake my parents."

Bae merely nodded and fell into bed when she showed him to a room, sleeping mere seconds after his head hit the pillow. Emma left him and raced down to the kitchens, knowing they would be teeming with servants intent on making breakfast soon enough. She did not want to be caught yet. Carefully, she edged into the kitchen stores, stole the few things she would need, and then used a few lesser-known passageways to make her way to the roof. On the way, she concentrated hard on the person she most wanted to see, hoping he'd get the message and meet her.

She went straight to their spot, set the two mugs she'd borrowed on the edge of the wall, and turned towards the door to wait. Less than ten minutes later, the door burst open to reveal a twelve-year-old—_twelve years old, how had that happened?_—still in his pajamas, chest heaving from running up the stairs. "You're here," he gasped out, glued to the spot just outside the door.

She nodded. "I'm here." They both stared for a moment, and then they were running at each other, Emma hardly having to bend down—_when did he get so tall?_—and then they were gripping each other like they never wanted to let go.

"I missed you," Henry whispered into her neck.

Her eyes filled with tears as she choked out, "I missed you too." She ran her hand through his dark brown hair and leaned back to look him in the eyes. "So much."

His breath hitched and he gripped her tighter, not wanting her too far away. "You left us," he stated, slightly accusatory.

She sighed and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I left to protect you. I couldn't let them…" she trailed off and shook her head. "But I'm back now."

Henry nodded slowly, glaring a little. They stood looking at each other for a very long time, not saying anything, and then he broke the silence. "Sun's coming up."

They shared a look, remembering dozens of dawn trips up to the roof with hot chocolate and Henry's gaze softened. Emma grinned, put her arm around him, and steered him over to the ledge. "Here you go," she said, handing him one of the mugs.

He looked down with a smile and, remembering just how long they'd stood there staring at each other, said, "Not very hot now, is it?"

Emma raised a brow, put her hand over his mug, and when she pulled it away, steam was rising from the brown liquid. "Whoa. You have magic?"

She nodded and reheated her own beverage. "I just found out a couple months ago. I've been training with Rumplestiltskin to hone my skills," she told him.

Henry sucked in a breath. "Rumplestiltskin? What did you have to trade for his help?"

Surprised he'd heard about Rumplestiltskin—her parents had kept him quite sheltered in their efforts to keep him safe from Regina—Emma blurted out, "Nothing."

He shook his head. "It can't be nothing. He never does anything for free."

"I'm good friends with his son," she explained. "Bae got his father to help me without a price."

Henry's look turned mischievous. "Good friends, huh? Is he your _suitor_?" He nudged her arm playfully.

Emma groaned and said, "No, no. No. He's not my anything, besides my _friend_," she emphasized, shooting him a glare when he started dancing around the roof, singing about Emma marrying Bae. "Henry, knock it off, it's not like that with him!"

Finally, Henry calmed down and went back to sipping his cocoa. They were quiet for a stretch of time, watching the sun clear the tops of the trees in the distance, then Henry just couldn't resist anymore. "Do you loooooove him?" he sang, laughing as he danced out of the way of Emma's swipe.

"You are so gonna get it, kid," she growled, setting down her mug and rolling up her sleeves.

Their parents found them half an hour later, drawn by the sound of squeals and laughter coming from the roof.

/

By the time Hook found Regina, it was time for dinner with Cora so he couldn't talk to her about it then. After, Cora wanted to talk strategy with Regina, so Hook was summarily dismissed for the night, which made him growl with frustration as he left the room. He spent a good three hours pacing outside Regina's rooms, waiting for her to get back from her meeting with Cora, before he finally gave up and went back to his ship.

He spent the night lying on the deck, staring up at the night sky. He told himself it wasn't because he couldn't sleep in his bed without thinking of her, but then he'd always been good at lying to himself. It started when he was around six: He'd told himself his father would come back for him (He didn't). He'd told himself he'd be happy without a family (He wasn't). He'd told himself that Milah was the perfect woman, and that with her he'd be able to start the family he always knew he wanted (but never wanted to admit to himself).

His breathing quickened as he started to remember little things about her he never even knew he noticed. The way she'd tense slightly when he started talking about having a family with her. The way she'd smile-but-it-was-more-like-a-grimace when he said he wanted to leave Neverland to grow old with her. The way she'd sighed wistfully, her blue eyes desolate and slightly panicked as they took their last glimpse of Neverland before the fairies created the portal that sent them home.

Milah had loved him, he knew she did. There were far more beautiful moments with her than these few rather miserable ones. At the time he'd chosen to ignore them because she'd been the love of his life and nothing was going to make him happier than being with her forever. Looking back now, he could see they wanted different things from life. And maybe, had they had the chance, they might have been able to reconcile those differences and stay blissfully in love for the rest of their days.

But maybe they wouldn't have. Maybe their wanting such opposite things for their lives would have torn them apart.

He'd loved Milah, and for a long time his entire life was about avenging her murder. But was it really worth it if the price was to throw away his entire future? A future which, if he was really going to start being honest with himself, he might be picturing with a certain feisty princess?

Heaving a sigh, Hook tossed and turned on the hard deck of the Jolly Roger, trying to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. He slept restlessly for hours, unable to stop the thoughts running through his head. Milah, Emma, the Dark One, revenge and his future until finally he pulled himself up and dragged himself down to his cabin. There he fell into bed, his arm flung out to the other side of the bed, Emma's side, gripping the sheets in his fist, and he finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

/

Hook was up with the sun the next morning, intent on finding Regina this time. Finally, he found her in the stables, preparing to take her morning ride. "Regina!"

She looked up and nearly snarled at him. "What do you want?"

A little startled at the vicious tone of her voice, he slid to a stop several feet from her. "I need to talk to you," he said, scratching his ear pointedly, telling her they needed to do it away from prying ears.

She nodded and gestured to a horse in the stall next to hers. "Saddle up, Captain. If you need to talk to me, you can come along on the ride."

After they were far away from the palace, and Cora, Regina slowed them down and cast a spell. "You can speak freely now."

He'd been itching to talk with her since the previous evening, but now that she was in front of him, he didn't know where to start. _Start with the obvious_, he thought. "You and Baelfire were lovers?"

Regina jerked the reins, causing her horse to let out a low whine. She glared over at him. "Why do you ask?"

"You told me you were impeding Cora's efforts to find him because you would need to rip out his heart to enact the curse. You care for him," he said slowly, careful to keep judgment out of his tone. It wouldn't do to set her off before he got the answers he needed.

She sighed and let her head drop slightly. "Yes," she affirmed quietly. "We were lovers. I…" she shook her head to stop herself from continuing her explanation.

Hook nodded, perceiving more than she'd stated, and moved on to his next dilemma. "Do you ever wonder if our constant pursuit for revenge is the reason no one loves us?"

Regina met his stare, eyes wide. "Never more than these last two months."

He nodded in agreement and held her gaze. "These last months, I've come to the realization that, should I achieve my goal and kill the Dark One, my life will be empty. I'm not sure I want my revenge if the only thing I'm left with in the end is nothing."

She tilted her head to the side, considering his words, words similar to those she'd been thinking herself ever since Bae left her. "I'm just so tired," she murmured to herself, staring out over her kingdom. She'd been fighting to ruin Snow's life for more than half of hers, and it was beginning to wear. When Bae had come into her life, she'd thought maybe she could find love again. Maybe her thoughts didn't have to revolve around hate all the time. Maybe she could finally have her own happy ending.

When he'd walked into the room where she, her mother, and Hook had been fighting the Charming family, she'd been elated to see him and terrified about her mother at the same time. Her elation turned to despair when she'd realized he was there to help Snow White and her family capture her. As for her terror… She acknowledged, finally, the part her mother played in Daniel's death. It was the reason she'd never wanted Cora to find out about Bae in the first place. Curiously, the incident helped her come to some realizations about her life, like perhaps maybe Snow wasn't fully to blame.

Regina had spent many nights since that one lying awake, thinking about Daniel, Cora, Snow, and finally Bae. She'd seen the regret in his eyes as he'd approached her with the soporific cloth that night. He didn't want to hurt her, not really. She knew he cared for her, though she doubted it was as much as her love for him. She also knew with whom he was working. Was it really worth it, she wondered, to lose Bae over such an exhausting and emotionally draining feud with Snow White?

Interrupting Regina's swirling thoughts, Hook said cautiously, "I'm beginning to think we should just forget our grudges and try to move on with our lives."

She let out a shuddery breath, straightened her shoulders, and nodded slowly, as if testing her resolve. "I think you may be right, Captain."

He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Now the question is, how do we begin to move on? How do we start making a change?"

Regina thought for a moment, then met Hook's stare with a raised eyebrow. The answer was obvious: Cora.

He nodded in agreement and questioned, "How do we stop her? She's amassing an army as we speak."

Regina pulled her horse to a stop and turned to face him. "I've actually been thinking about that, and I think I've got a solution that will satisfy both of our problems quite satisfactorily," she stated, a wicked smile beginning to emerge on her face for the first time in months.

Hook leaned closer, heart pounding harder, with his eyebrow raised. "I'm all ears, milady."

/

"What are we going to do about Regina and Cora?" Emma asked, leaning on the table over the map of their battle plans. They'd been going over them all afternoon with the war council at a round table surrounded by the family's closest friends. Almost everyone was accounted for in the battle plans, including Hook, except for Cora and Regina.

Snow and Charming exchanged a glance. Snow sighed and said quietly, "As much as I hate to admit it, Regina is too powerful for me to take on when she's got her magic. You're the only one here powerful enough to take her on." Her eyes held her daughter's, self-loathing swimming in her eyes for placing her child in her enemy's line of fire.

Emma gripped her mother's hand and nodded, having suspected she'd have to take on Regina in this fight. "What about Cora?" she turned to Bae.

He sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face. "My father has yet to respond to any of my messages. I have no idea how close he is to obtaining Cora's heart. The only thing we can count on right now is your sword."

Charming gritted his teeth. "We wait, then. We wait to move forward until we have Cora's heart."

"And if they attack before we have it?" Red asked from across the table, eyebrow raised in enquiry.

The entire table was silent for a long moment. "Then we move forward with what we have and hope it's enough," Emma said quietly.

Charming nodded in agreement and looked around the table to see similar affirmations. "Then this council is dismissed."

"Emma," Snow murmured, grabbing her arm before she could leave with everyone else. "I need to speak with you." Charming moved toward them, a question in his eyes. "Alone," she said, more to her husband than to Emma, causing Charming to turn around and close the doors on his way out.

Snow and Emma walked to the window to look out at the sea. "What is it, Mom?" Emma asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Snow sighed and leaned on her daughter's arm. "Tell me about Peter."

Emma stiffened. "There's nothing to tell." Snow waited quietly until Emma blurted, "He's not Peter anymore, Mom. He goes by Hook. You must have noticed why."

Snow nodded. "Tell me about him, Emma. You spent some time with him while you were…away, didn't you?"

"Two days," she answered scornfully. "It was only two days."

"Sometimes it only takes two hours," Snow murmured, gripping Emma's hand in hers.

Brows drawn together, Emma turned to her mother and wondered, "What do you mean?"

"I think you care for him," Snow told her bluntly.

Emma's breathing quickened and her voice rose slightly. "No, I don't. I can't. He's working with them, with Regina and Cora."

Snow led her over to the table and they sat down, still holding hands. "Emma, I know, but that doesn't mean you can just turn your feelings off. What I really need to know is if you're going to be able to go into this fight knowing he's on the other side, and that he might not come out of there alive. If you don't think you can, I'm sure we can—"

"No," Emma said forcefully, swallowing the lump caused by her mother's words. "I'm the only one who can stop Regina. I need to be there to help you."

"But if Hook's there—"

"If Hook's there," she ground out. "I'll still be able to focus on Regina. Do I wish my situation with him was different?" she asked, looking away from her mother's knowing gaze. "Yes," she whispered longingly. "But the things I wish…" she shook her head and gave her mother a rueful smile. "I wish he could love me, but he can't because he'll always love Milah. I wish he would stop his quest for vengeance, but he won't because he needs to avenge her. I wish so many things." She looked down and pulled at loose threads in her pants. "I wish he could love me, or even want me, but he'll never be what I deserve, what I need. So I'm choosing to let him go and focus on protecting my family." She stood up and met Snow's wide eyes. "I deserve better than to be second choice behind his revenge." With that, Emma pushed away from the table, avoiding the understanding in her mother's eyes, and walked out, ignoring her father's concerned look when she passed him just outside the council room.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: Thanks for your fab reviews! I really love to read them!**

**Also, I don't own OUAT. **

Chapter Eleven

It was a strange feeling, attempting to let go of hate so deeply ingrained in one's being. Hook lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what it might be like to see the Dark One again. Would he still feel a deep and abiding hate? Yes. However, when he played out the scenario in his mind, he was determined that he choose to ignore the crocodile. He would meet the Dark One's eyes, feel the rage coursing through his veins, and then walk away. Whenever he saw himself walking away from the Dark One, he also pictured himself heading _towards_ Emma.

Hook looked to the other side of the bed and pictured her there, curled up in sleep, a hand flung out toward him. He felt the raging volcano in his chest ebb into a placid river. Yes, she was a much better sight to imagine than Rumplestiltskin. He sighed and thought about what he might say to her the next time they met. Apologizing wasn't something he was good at, nor something he particularly relished doing, but he felt he owed her a little penance for working with her enemies.

Alright, so first he would apologize. Then what? Confess his undying love for her? He snorted at his thoughts and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't quite that far gone on her yet. No, he'd apologize, then he'd kiss her. He smiled at this plan. Yes, kissing her seemed like a good idea. After he apologized she'd likely have a lot to say, so he'd just swoop in and—

His thoughts were interrupted by the swirl of purple smoke that erupted at the end of his bed. Cora. "Get up. We're moving forward with our plans tonight."

Hook leapt out of bed and pulled on his shirt. "Why? What happened?"

Cora shook her head and absently rubbed her chest. "Something's wrong. We need to start moving our forces tonight, so we can be ready for battle tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

Tomorrow. Would Regina be ready by tomorrow? His heart thumped erratically in his chest. "I'll be ready to move by midnight," he told Cora, extending the time he'd need by an hour to delay her.

She narrowed her eyes at him and he held his breath. Finally she nodded and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. He let out his breath with a shake of his head. "Regina, I hope you're ready for this," he murmured to himself as he began packing for their journey.

/

It was nearly dawn and Emma was still awake, staring at the ceiling above her bed, thinking about that damned pirate. She'd done well at avoiding thinking about him for the last two months, and then her mother, while well-meaning, had gone and ruined her fragile peace of mind. She groaned and shifted her position for the thousandth time that night, hoping it would be comfortable enough to allow her to sleep. With thoughts of Hook still rushing through her mind, she doubted it.

Sighing, she curled up on her side and tried counting her breaths. One, two, three, blue eyes. Damn it. Okay, start over. One, two, three, four, five, scruffy smile. She huffed and beat her pillow. One, two, incredibly chiseled body. "Ugh," she groaned loudly, picking up another pillow and attempting to smother herself with it.

The truth was, she wasn't one hundred percent positive she could ignore him on the battlefield. She felt like she was drawn to him, and she knew she'd be hyper-aware of anything he did within her viewing range. It had happened when she and her parents had confronted him at the Evil Queen's palace. Even when she'd been focused on deflecting Cora's magic, she'd known exactly where he was at all times and whether he was in danger of being hurt by Snow's blade.

He was definitely going to be a distraction, one that could get her family or someone else killed. But what could she do about it? She needed to be there to face Regina. She was the only one with magic strong enough to challenge Regina's, therefore she was indispensable on the field of battle. She would just have to figure out a way to shut down her feelings and ignore him.

Before she could think of a way to do that, her bedroom door burst open and Red rushed in. "Emergency council meeting, now," she said breathlessly.

Emma nodded and pulled her clothes on, knowing it must be important if they were calling a meeting in the middle of the night. She made her way down the corridors to the council chamber. She was just about to enter through the open door when she heard her parents whispering just inside. When she heard her own name come up, she stepped back to hide in the shadows of the corridor.

"I'm worried about bringing Emma into this fight, Charming. I don't think she can handle it," Snow was saying quietly.

Her father's voice sounded incredulous. "Of course she can handle it, Snow. She did spectacularly well on her own all these years, and now that she's proficient in magic, Regina—"

Snow interrupted him. "I'm not worried about her fighting skills, I'm worried about how she'll handle being around Hook."

There was a beat of silence and she could picture her mother giving Charming a pointed look. "_What_?" he fairly screeched, making Emma wince. "You think she…You think they…" he couldn't seem to finish his queries.

"I think Emma may have a hard time seeing him in danger," Snow stated carefully.

Her father groaned. "What do you suggest we do? We can't exactly win this fight without her."

"I'll take care of Hook," her mother decided. "I'll keep him away from Emma for as long as I can. Hopefully that will buy her enough time to take care of Regina without distractions."

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" Charming asked hopefully.

Snow couldn't quite suppress her snigger. "No, I'll do it. You've got Cora to worry about."

Others started streaming down the hallway to the council room then, so Emma slipped out of the shadows and into the room along with everyone else. She sat next to her mother, who sent her a comforting smile. Emma merely grimaced back, her thoughts racing about the conundrum that was Hook. She couldn't afford the distraction, and she doubted her mother would be able to keep him from her on the field if he really wanted to find her. She rubbed her head, wondering what to do.

Her father called the meeting to order then, drawing her attention away from her current predicament. "Regina's army is on the move," he stated gravely. "They are headed this way and will be here by this afternoon at the latest."

The council shared worried looks and murmured comments, trying to figure out what their next steps should be. Finally, everything was in order to move out. "Baelfire, have you heard from your father yet?" Charming asked, tapping his fingers in a rapid rhythm on the table.

Bae sighed heavily and shook his head. "No, unfortunately I have not," he said quietly, rubbing his red eyes.

"Well, dearies, it would seem you're in a bit of a pickle," came a high-pitched taunt from the back of the room. All eyes jerked to Rumplestiltskin, who was sitting comfortably in a chair in the corner. "Perhaps I can help you with that," he said, holding up a small brown sack.

"Is that…?" Bae swallowed hard, walking toward his father.

Rumple's eyes shifted to his son and his leer softened into a grin. "Cora's heart? Oh, yes it is. Took some effort to retrieve it, but I told you I'd get it and now I have."

Bae took the sack from his father gingerly, keeping it far away from his body as he handed it over to Snow. "Thank you, Papa. This will definitely help us win the battle today," Bae said with a small smile.

Snow opened the bag to look at the heart and Rumple let loose a high-pitched giggle. "I took the liberty of casting a spell on it. Once her heart is back in," he waved his hands in the air dramatically. "Well, let's just say you won't have any problems with her in the future."

Snow's eye widened and her jaw dropped. "What will happen to her?" she whispered, horrified.

"She'll get what she deserves," Rumple said coldly.

Charming cleared his throat and called everyone to attention again. "Alright everybody, you all know the plan for today. Let's get moving." There was a flurry as everyone moved to leave and work on their assigned tasks to prepare for the fight.

Before Emma could leave, Rumple called her to a halt. "Wait, princess. I need to speak with you for a moment." His tone sounded more like the man than the Dark One.

Bae lifted a brow to her in question, but she waved him along. His father probably had some advice on how to counter Regina's magic or something. "What is it?" she asked him after the room had emptied.

He studied her for a moment before he stood and started wandering around the room. "I overheard your parents earlier," he started, sending her a sly look.

She swallowed heavily. "Eavesdropping is rude, you know," she stated, not looking away from his eerie black eyes.

He giggled and hopped onto the table. "Then I guess we're both in trouble, aren't we?" he taunted, tipping his head to the side and studying her curiously. "I've got a solution," he sang to her, pulling a vial out of his pocket. "Do you know what this is?"

Her throat went dry. "My mother told me you once gave her a potion to forget my father. Is that…" she nodded her head toward it, unable to finish the thought.

Rumple giggled again and bounced off the table. "Is this the same potion? Why yes it is, dearie, and I thought you might like to have a bottle as well." He held it up and she reached out.

"Wait," she said pulling her hand back and narrowing her eyes at him. "What do you want for it?"

His insect-eyes widened fractionally and he placed a hand on his heart. "You still doubt me." He shook his head and stepped closer to her, the bottle even with her eyes. "It's a gift, dearie, to help you in the upcoming fight. Like dear old mummy and daddy, I'd hate to see you hurt because you couldn't keep your thoughts from the dirty pirate," he stated, jiggling the vial.

Emma lifted her hand slowly and gripped the bottom. "Thank you," she said slowly, watching his eyes for his reaction.

He didn't let go of the bottle, merely stepped closer as she pulled it toward her, until their faces were merely inches apart. "No worries, dearie. I wish you luck with Regina today; she will definitely require your full attention," he pointedly eyed the bottle as Emma pulled it away from his slackening grip.

She exhaled shakily as she looked down on the potion. "I'll keep that in mind." She met his eyes and nodded, grip tightening around the vial. "I wouldn't want to be distracted during the fight," she murmured to herself as she walked out of the room, leaving a gleeful Rumplestiltskin behind.

/

They had a tent set up on the battlefield, away from where most of the action would take place, but close enough that they could keep an eye on the fight. Charming was adjusting his armor when Emma walked in, determination in her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

She turned to him and helped him with his armor. "Of course I'm alright. I ran from that woman for nearly three years. You and Mom have been fighting her half of your lives. I am ready to see her put away, or dead if it comes to that," she stated bluntly.

Charming gave her an odd look as he started helping her into her armor. "Your mother would really like it if we could just capture Regina, put her in prison. Killing her has always been our last resort."

"Yes, and look where that's gotten you," Emma snapped. Charming merely raised an eyebrow at her harsh tone. "I'm sorry," she placed a hand on her temple and rubbed. "I'm just…I'm ready for this to be over."

He chuckled and said, "Aren't we all? But let me give you some advice from your mother, who learned it from her mother: You should always keep the spirit of goodness in your heart. This fight may have ended a long time ago had we chosen to kill Regina when we had the chance, but that's not who we are. We will always choose to do the right thing rather than the easy thing." He placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "I know you'll always do the right thing, Emma," he said quietly.

"Thank you, Dad," she murmured, closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss he placed on her forehead. "I will _always_ try to do the right thing."

**A/N: Just so you know, tomorrow will be the last updates. I'm kind of freaking out about how you're all going to react…! **


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: I'm so excited to present you with the last chapter! There will be a short epilogue I post nearly immediately after I post this, though. Thank you so much for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, as much as I wish I did!**

Chapter Twelve

Charming led their troops into battle while Emma and Snow stayed behind, waiting for word that Regina had been spotted. "Are you sure you'll be able to do this?" Snow asked her daughter gently.

Emma looked at her with her brows furrowed. "Of course I'll be able to do this. Stop worrying so much."

Snow let out a slow breath. "Well, with Hook coming out with them, I'm really concerned you won't be able to focus on Regina."

Emma shook her head and opened her mouth to respond, but Red ran in then and said, "Regina, Cora, and Hook are all on the eastern edge of the forest. They're headed this way."

Snow looked to her daughter one last time, a question in her eyes. "I'm ready for this, Mom," Emma said, sounding rather exasperated.

Snow smiled and nodded. "Of course you are." As soon as her daughter turned to leave her smile dropped and she sent a worried look over to Red. "Go find Charming and send him over to us."

They made their way to the eastern edge of the forest by skirting around most of the fighting. When they arrived, Regina, Cora, and Hook had cleared a rather wide space of land for their battle with the Charming family.

Emma and Snow squared their shoulders and faced the other line. Regina sneered at Snow when, instead of standing in front of the Evil Queen, she chose to face off against Hook. Instead, Emma took up a place in front of Regina, sparing brief glances to the left and right at Hook and Cora. "Regina," she said coolly.

"Emma," she sneered back.

Snow saw Hook's attention centered on her daughter, so she took the opportunity to divert his attention back to her. "Hook," she intoned firmly.

He barely glanced her way, murmuring a quiet, "Your Majesty," before flicking his eyes back to Emma.

Cora rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, and I'm Cora. Now that we've all stated the obvious, might we get on with the fighting? I need to find a rather important boy in order to enact my curse, so the sooner I get rid of you, the better."

Emma nodded in agreement. "Yes, the sooner, the better. Begin," she told Regina with a casual shrug. Within moments she was fielding attacks from both Cora and Regina, and already it was wearing on her energy to have to deflect magic from two such powerful forces at once. Luckily, Charming showed up soon after the battle began and diverted Cora's attention away from Emma.

"You've been practicing," Regina stated, thrusting a bit of magic toward Emma and then dodging it when it was deflected back to her.

"Rumplestiltskin's a good teacher. But you'd know that, right?" Emma stated, starting to advance on her with more aggressive moves.

Regina's attention was sidetracked when Cora sent a rather devious trail of magic around to catch Charming in the back of his legs. Quickly, she redirected some of her own magic to protect his weak spot. She couldn't let her mother get to Bae, so she had to help Charming keep her mother occupied. Cora was surprised when her move failed to injure him, but was too distracted to look for his savior. Emma, however, had seen what Regina did. She stepped forward and both of their magic came to a halt. "What the hell was that?" Emma demanded.

Seeing no way to talk her way out of this, Regina said quietly, "I don't want her to get to Bae any more than you do. I need your father to keep her distracted."

They were drawing attention to themselves from their lack of enmity, so Regina started weaving her magic around Emma again while Emma worked to deflect it. "How long do you think he'll be able to do that? He can't distract her forever," Emma sneered at her.

Regina shrugged and said, "Just long enough for me to open a portal."

Emma dropped her magic again in her surprise. "What?"

/

Hook looked over to see Regina and Emma had halted their fight and were talking intently. A quick glance over at Cora told him she hadn't noticed yet.

"What is she doing?" Snow asked him as she swung her sword around.

Hook deflected her blow easily; then again, he knew she wasn't really putting much effort into their fight, just enough to keep him from focusing fully on Emma. "Regina's telling Emma she's going to open a portal to a world without magic and send Cora there. Rumplestiltskin too, if we can manage it."

"What?" Snow gasped, lowering her sword. "Why would she do that?"

Hook grinned and shrugged, lowering his blade as well. "Love changes people, Your Majesty. She'd rather live in this world with Bae than in a cursed world without him." His eyes flickered over to Emma as he spoke.

Snow looked over to see Emma backing cautiously away from Regina, then looked back at Hook. "And you? I thought you wanted nothing more than to kill the Dark One?"

He met her eyes and said quietly, "There's one thing I want more."

Snow saw the honesty in his gaze and nodded, a slight grin on her lips. "Okay then."

/

Emma backed away from Regina, hoping she wasn't wrong about the woman. She'd listened to Regina's plan to get rid of Cora and Rumplestiltskin, and Emma hadn't been able to detect a lie in her explanation. Still, it would be better if someone was ready to guard her back from Regina while Emma worked on distracting Cora. "Dad! Switch!" she called over to him. He looked over at her in confusion and nearly missed a blow Cora had sent his way. As they passed each other, she told him, "Just let her open the portal. Attack if she tries anything else."

Charming nodded, brow furrowed still, but did as she asked him and held his sword at the ready. Cora merely turned her attention to Emma, not realizing Charming and Regina weren't attacking each other. "Well, well, dear. I see my old lover has taught you a few things," she sang, circling Emma back toward the trees. Emma let her, to keep her eyes away from Regina.

"Lovers? That must have been disgusting, with all your wrinkles and saggy…bits," Emma taunted, pretending to gag in disgust.

Cora merely snarled and sent a wave of magic toward her. Emma surrounded herself with a magical barrier and worked on building more offensive spells to aim at Cora. They were shooting magic back and forth at each other and Emma was tiring quickly, her defenses crumbling and her attacks getting more and more weak.

Emma had lost sight of Regina and Charming while they'd been moving across the battlefield. She determinedly started leading Cora back in the direction of Regina's portal, hoping it would be ready soon. At that moment, a familiar blur streaked past them, heading in Regina's direction. Emma no longer had to use subtlety to lead Cora back towards the portal. The sorceress sent her a wicked smile and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, intent on catching up to Bae.

/

Regina took Hook's flask from him and spared a quick glance for her mother and Emma, who were swiftly moving out of sight. "What exactly is going on here?" Charming asked, still holding his sword at the ready.

"I'm opening a portal to a land without magic," Regina said breathlessly as the magic began to work its way around the flask.

"And you're going to do that with magic and a flask of rum?" Charming said doubtfully.

"Water, from Lake Nostos, actually," Hook told him, drawing Charming's attention and earning a scowl.

Regina nodded and started muttering under her breath. "Water is already a magical element on its own. It has the power to create, change, destroy. This water has even more magical properties. I can pull from that power to create a portal for a short time. Long enough to send my mother through, in any case, and Rumplestiltskin once we summon him with the dagger." The portal started to grow on the ground in front of her, but the sound of someone running towards them had them all looking away from it.

"Regina!" Bae yelled, running toward them.

Her eyes widened and for a moment the magic faltered. He was ten feet from them when Cora materialized in front of him and plunged her hand into his chest.

/

Emma ran after Cora, hoping she could get to her in time to prevent her from killing Bae. She was catching up with him, but still several yards behind when Cora appeared in front of him and Emma saw the sorceress's hand disappear into Bae's chest.

"No!" she heard Regina shout from the other side of them.

Emma rushed forward and yelled, "Regina, keep working on the portal!" She marshaled her strength and hurtled the rest of her magic at Cora, hoping it was enough to make her pull her arm out of her friend's chest sans heart.

Cora chuckled, waving her other hand to deflect Emma's magic. "Did you really think you could beat me?" she wondered, relishing in her power and squeezing Bae's heart.

Bae gasped and Emma saw the portal flicker again out of the corner of her eye. "Cora, don't," Emma begged, hands held up in supplication.

Cora clucked her tongue and squeezed again. "I've got no choice. Regina needs his heart to enact the curse. She won't be able to take it herself, weak thing that she is, so I'm doing it for her. She'll understand one day. I always do what's best for her."

She moved to pull Bae's heart out, but before she could, Snow slithered up from behind her and shoved her own hand into Cora's chest. "You couldn't know what's best for your daughter," Snow said sadly. "You haven't had the heart before now."

Cora staggered back, letting go of Bae's heart to clutch at her own chest, where her long-absent heart now resided again. She looked over at her daughter and a beatific smile lit up her face.

/

"Regina, keep working on the portal!" Emma yelled to her.

She was desperate to rush over there to help Bae, but Snow met her eyes and said, "I can help him, Regina. But it could cost you your mother."

How could she choose between Bae and her mother? It was different if she was sending Cora to another world. At least she'd be alive if she went through the portal. But to kill her in order to save Bae? She looked to Hook, tears shining in her eyes. He looked back with pity and shrugged. It was her choice. She looked to her mother, the woman who'd killed her first love, and she looked to Snow White, the woman who'd broken her promise. Truly, who was the more trustworthy woman of the two? The one who'd schemed to get her daughter a crown, or the one who'd given up everything time and again to protect those she'd loved?

She gritted her teeth and nodded sharply at Snow. "Do it."

Snow nodded and dipped her hand into the bag attached to her hip, pulling out a glowing red heart. She moved away from Regina and Hook, creeping up behind Cora.

Regina looked away, not willing to watch what would happen next. She nodded to Hook and said, "It's time to call him."

Hook nodded and let out a slow breath as he pulled Rumplestiltskin's dagger from his sheath. "Dark One, I demand your presence!" he called, holding the dagger up above him.

"You called?" Rumplestiltskin gritted out, appearing directly behind him.

/

Cora rushed towards her daughter, tears streaming down her face, taking no notice of Bae and Snow, who were kneeling on the ground together next to her. Emma ran after Cora to keep her from stopping Regina.

"Are you alright?" Snow asked Bae, rubbing soothing circles into his back.

He nodded. "I'll be fine," he gasped, rubbing his chest. He nodded toward the portal Regina was creating and asked, "What's going on?"

"Regina's creating a portal to send Cora and your father to a land without magic, so they can't hurt anyone anymore."

Bae's eyes widened and he staggered to his feet. "My father's not going to go quietly," he murmured as he watched Rumplestiltskin materialize behind Hook. "I've got to go help them."

He and Snow started running toward his father.

/

Hook couldn't help the wave of rage that rushed through him upon seeing Rumplestiltskin again. "Crocodile," he growled, holding the dagger down at his side.

"Pirate," Rumplestiltskin sneered, slinking towards him. "Finally got your filthy hands on my dagger, I see. Well, hand," he corrected, looking pointedly at his hook.

Hook snarled at him in response. "But find it I did, Rumplestiltskin, and now I've got the power." He waved the dagger in front of him mockingly.

"Oh, and now you're going to kill me, I suppose?" Rumple held his hands in front of him as if to ward him off, but his tone was mocking.

At that moment, Cora approached Regina, and Emma, a few paces behind her. Sparing her a quick look, Hook flicked his eyes back to Rumple and shook his head. "No, I'm going to send you to a world without magic."

Rumple lifted his hands up and grinned. "We'll see about that." He shot a black cloud of magic toward Hook, but it stopped midair before it hit him. Rumple howled with rage and met Emma's eyes. Her hands were extended in front of her, all of her focus on keeping Rumple's magic from harming Hook. "You weren't supposed to remember him!" he shouted angrily.

Emma shrugged. "I might have forgotten him, had I imbibed your potion."

"Your feelings for him were a threat to your family's safety on the battlefield! You were supposed to forget him to stay strong!" He stomped his foot, reminiscent of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"No, my feelings for him helped me on the battlefield today," she countered, stepping closer to Rumple. "Love is strength." Avoiding looking at Hook she said, "Order him to walk towards the portal."

She saw Hook nod out of the corner of her eye, a smile playing on his lips. "Walk toward the portal, Dark One."

/

Regina was trying to maintain the portal long enough for Hook to order Rumplestiltskin to jump in. This was made more difficult by the reappearance of her mother, who was smiling widely at her with tears streaming down her face. "I love you, Regina," she told her daughter. Regina's breathing hitched and the portal expanded slightly, though she was too distracted to notice.

"Mother?" she whispered, meeting Cora's eyes.

"You were always enough," her mother stated, laying a hand on Regina's cheek.

Regina smiled, tears slipping down her face. There was a hitch in her heart and the portal expanded once more. "I love you, Mother." She hardly acknowledged Rumplestiltskin moving towards the other side of the portal.

"Regina," Cora murmured, then gasped, clutching a hand to her heart.

"Mother?" Regina cried out, panicked. The portal expanded again and she heard a cry from the other side.

/

Bae ran up to Hook and Emma, then passed them to speak to his father. "Papa?"

Rumplestiltskin met his son's eyes and gritted out, "I'm to be sent to a land without magic."

Bae nodded and said quietly, "Perhaps that's best."

Rumple's eyes widened at his son's admission. "You wanted this," he stated angrily.

They stopped at the edge of the portal and Bae turned his back on it to face his father. "No, I just wanted you to be free of your curse."

Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way to the portal and he started to get pulled in. He cried out and clutched at his father's shirt to keep from being sucked in. He looked behind his father to see Hook and Emma scrambling to get to him, but Rumple was in the way.

He met his father's eyes. He'd been working so long to get his father back, and this was the perfect opportunity. They could go to the land without magic together and Rumple could be his Papa again. "Let's go together," he whispered, clutching his father's hand in his and letting go of his shirt.

Rumple seemed to consider it a moment. Suddenly, he shook his head and growled, "No!" before he let go of Bae's hand and let him fly into the portal.

/

Regina watched her mother crumple in front of her, dead from the cursed heart Snow had placed in her chest. She let out a whimper of grief before her attention was drawn away from Cora to the events happening on the other side of the portal.

Bae was being pulled in, saved only by the grip he had on Rumplestiltskin's hands. She let out a relieved breath and watched as Emma and Hook moved to either side of Rumplestiltskin to try to find a way to pull Bae out of the portal. Hopefully then they'd be able to force Rumple into it.

Suddenly, Rumple let go of Bae and he slipped backward into the swirling vortex. "No!" she called out, nearly at the same time as Rumple. The portal surged again and threatened to pull Rumple in.

/

When the portal expanded yet again, Rumplestiltskin leaped back. Hook and Emma were still stunned by the loss of Bae, so he took the opportunity to leap on the pirate. There was a scuffle, and in the end, Rumple stood holding the dagger, Hook standing defenseless in front of him with his back to the portal. "Goodbye, pirate," he smiled evilly, using a single finger to push Hook back into the portal. He vanished into a column of smoke just as Emma leaped forward to grab Hook's hand.

The portal was closing, Hook was sure of it. He knew because the winds were getting stronger and it was getting more difficult to climb out of it. He was already partially in the vortex, and the portal wanted to pull him in all the way as it closed. Emma was lying on the ground in front of him, both hands gripping his one, gritting her teeth as she attempted to pull him out.

She was fighting a losing battle; her body was being pulled forward as his was being pulled in. "Let go," he said quietly. She appeared not to hear him so he cleared his throat and said louder, "Emma. Let go."

Her eyes, filled to the brim with tears, met his. "Killian, don't be an idiot. I'm not going to let you go."

He closed his eyes briefly, smiling at the exasperated way she said his name, then opened his eyes again to meet hers. "Emma, love, it's okay. Let go before you get pulled in too."

"I am _not_ letting you go, Killian Jones!" she yelled.

"I think I love you, Emma," he said quietly, letting go of her hands.

She let out a sob, so he knew she heard, and gripped his arm tighter. "Shut up, you stupid pirate. Don't say that to me and then let go. You have to fight."

He laughed and tried to wiggle free. "I always said, a man who doesn't fight for what he wants deserves what he gets. Well, I want your happiness more than anything Emma, and that means you have to stay here with your family. Let go."

"Killian Jones, I swear—" she choked out, gripping his jacket tighter as he started to slip out of it.

/

"Snow!" Regina called, halting the woman's progress toward her daughter, who was attempting to pull the pirate out of the portal. "I'm…" she shrugged, her face creased with anguish. "I'm sorry."

She smiled softly at her stepmother and nodded. "I am too Regina."

Regina nodded and said, voice gruff, "Get them out of there. I can't hold it much longer, then I'm jumping in before it closes."

Snow's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded in understanding as she ran to her daughter, Charming was coming up from the battlefield quickly to be on her other side.

/

Suddenly, Snow and Charming appeared on either side of Emma, pulling her away from the portal. Since she refused to let go of Killian, he was being pulled out along with her.

Once Killian's torso was free, it became easier to pull the rest of him out. He and Emma collapsed on the ground next to the portal, chests heaving from the effort it had taken to pull him out. Emma pulled his hand toward her and linked their fingers together as they caught their breath.

Snow moved toward Charming and she hugged his arm as they looked across the portal together. Emma looked up, saw Regina give a short nod to them, and then she lifted her hands, stepped forward, and was sucked into the portal as it collapsed in on itself.

She sat up in surprise, looking to her mother to explain what had just happened. Snow shrugged and said simply, "She loved him."

At the mention of love, Killian squeezed her hand. She kept eye contact with her mother, but a grin started to form. Snow's lips twitched as well when she saw the spasm in Charming's eye. "We'll go stop the fighting. You need to head back to the palace to rest," Snow told her sagely.

Emma's grin widened as she pulled Killian to a stand with her. "Yes, all that magic really took it out of me. I really should," she gave a huge yawn. "I really should go home and rest."

"Wait a second," Charming started, moving toward them. He was stopped by Snow's tightening her grip on his arm.

"No, dear," she said mildly, dragging him away from the couple.

Emma dragged Killian with her into the woods, knowing a shortcut to get back and wanting to avoid the fighting, though that had seemed to die down once Regina and Cora were gone. Once they were out of sight, Emma let go of his hand and turned to face him. He looked at her curiously, a smile still playing on his lips.

She balled her fist up and punched him in the arm. "Gods, Emma, what was that for?" he scowled, rubbing his shoulder.

"That, was for trying to leave me behind, like I couldn't make that decision on my own!" she yelled. When she started to move toward him again, he backed away from her. She surged forward and grabbed him by the back of the neck. When her lips were a breath from his she whispered, "And this is for trying to leave me behind, to keep me with my family."

His lips were surprisingly soft. She grinned when his arms came around her and she nipped at his bottom lip. He groaned and tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her body flush with his. She licked the seam of his lips, demanding entrance, and he gave it to her, tilting his head to give her better access. When she pulled back to breathe, she buried her head in his neck and murmured, "Killian, kiss me back."

He chuckled and pulled away from her a little so he could look down at her face. Finally, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. She rolled her eyes and leaned closer. "You know that's not what I mean."

He grinned and leaned in again to kiss the corner of her mouth. "I know, but we really should get you back home so you can get to bed." He laughed outright at her waggling eyebrows. "To _sleep_, " he explained, twirling her in a circle as he started walking them back to the castle.

"Killian!" She seemed to relish saying his name, and his heart skipped a beat every time she did.

"There will be plenty of time for everything else, love." He pulled her to a stop and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Plenty of time," he repeated, moving up to kiss her cheek. "Forever, if you wanted," he whispered in her ear.

She pulled away and gave him a wry grin. "I don't want to wait _that_ long," she told him, taking his hand and continuing on through the forest. "But I suppose I could wait a bit longer for you, Killian Jones," she said loftily. "After all, I've already been waiting more than twelve years to tell you I love you."

He pulled her to a stop and shook his head at her cheeky grin. "It's about bloody time," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her again.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

It's nice to be home. After nearly three years on the run, I love being able to see my parents every day. I love being able to have hot chocolate with my brother on the roof obscenely early in the morning. More than that, I really love to sleep in my own bed, safe in the knowledge that I won't have to keep one eye open lest Regina's men find me. Most of all, I love spending time with my pirate. Our relationship isn't perfect. In fact, most of the time he makes me so crazy I want to tie him to a tree and just walk away, but…we love each other, so we make it work.

Rumplestiltskin is still out there, and he's got one hell of a grudge against my man. Despite the threat hanging over us, I think we'll be fine. As long as we stick together, nothing can come between us. After all, nothing can stop true love, right?

**A/N: Shit, please don't kill me. At the time I finished this story (which was about two weeks ago), I had no intention of writing a sequel. I just left it open in case I wanted to someday. Monday night, I was up until 2am thinking of plot lines for two more stories. I wrote the outline, prologue, and part of chapter one last night. As for posting it…I wanted to complete this story before I posted it so I could make sure it was exactly right. The same will probably happen with the others as well, which means at least a month before I post the second story.**

**Anyways, thank all of you for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following! This was my first fic and all the attention and wonderful praise really boosted my confidence!**

**Lastly, I always have to thank Kaitlyn, my best friend and the most fantastic beta in the world, who is also getting on my ass about writing the next story, as she wants to know what happens next.**


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